The One Whom I'll Always Protect
by AsianWriter17
Summary: It's the start of the ranger's long battle against Master Xandred and his nighlok army, just how far will Jayden go to protect the innocent and the one he holds close to his heart? Jayden/OC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The sun shone brightly over a peaceful city, with the citizens doing their own daily thing, like the adults heading off to their job ready to work, teens and young children going to school, those kind of things. Though at a Japanese style house in a secluded area not too far from the city, were 4 teens training outside in the back with practice wooden swords. 2 guys were doing some moves in sync with one another and 2 girls were doing a practice fight with the swords against each other while an older looking man looked on with another guy and girl by his side. The older man began slowly pacing back and forth not once taking his eyes off the 4 training teens. "The life of the samurai must be one of discipline and order, samurai must constantly improve to ready themselves for battle." told the older man, with the 2 guys, one who wore a training uniform marked in green was accidentally hit in the shoulder by his partner that also wore a training uniform except is marked in blue. The guy cringed a bit in pain from the hit "Ow!" the guy who stood by the older man wearing a training uniform marked in red saw this and walked over "Are you ok?" "Of course!" "Get into your opponent's head, use your instincts to sense their next move and feel their attack coming." he then swung the practice sword he had at the guy in blue who quickly dodge the oncoming attacks. The guy marked in green was amazed at his training partner "Wow Kevin that's amazing!" he soon cringed again in pain as he was hit by a practice sword again. "Mike always keep your guard up." advised the guy in the red training uniform, the older man who was now watching this said "Mike let me ask you something…"

Unfortunately once Mike took a step forward towards the older man, he was once again hit in the shoulder by a practice blade "Ow! Hey that's not fair! You distracted me!" the guy in the red uniform gave him a look that Mike understood "Ok I get it, let me try again." he soon dodge an attack by doing a flip only to get hit in the butt by the practice sword. "Now watch this." said the red uniformed guy, he began fighting with Kevin who again kept dodging his attacks but this time his pants fell in the process. The girls saw this and began to laugh while the older man shook his head. Then the girl with blonde hair took notice that something was missing and began looking around "Hey where did Mike go?" they all began to look around all wondering just where did Mike go, but as they looked the girl who had long straight black hair and wore a royal Japanese type kimono began to cough a bit. This caused the guy in the red marked uniform to go over to her side "Nariko are you all right?" she ceased her coughing for a bit "Yes Jayden I'm all right…" the girl with black curly hair looked towards her in concern "Are you sure?" "Yes I'm sure Mia…" the older man gently placed his hand on Nariko's shoulder "Come let us go inside, it's time that you took your medicine and tea Nariko." "Yes Master Ji." "Do you want me to make your tea for you Nariko?" asked the blonde girl "If you don't mind at all Emily…" "Of course not! Anything that'll help make you feel better soon!" Jayden then wrapped his arm around Nariko's shoulders and led her inside the household with the others following.

Meanwhile in another place where no humans can reach, there is a river with an old looking ancient Japanese ship upon the waters. Aboard the ship were evil monsters, one of the monsters who happened to be a female was looking out of the ship and at the waters below them "With the water level this low, we'll never flood Earth." another monster that had a head resembling a squid looked towards the female demon "Ooh, ah, ooh! Hear it down there Dayu if we just frighten those human crybabies, the water will rise and we can sail out of here!" a sinister looking monster who sat upon the floor and being served a drink by another monster said "Then quit flapping your noodles and start scaring some humans! Incase you forgotten what scared looks like take note!" he began choking the monster that was serving him a drink. Then a Tsuchikorobi like monster came aboard the ship "You're in a violent mood today boss!" "Oh Rofer I'd asked you to lend a hand but why not lend us two?" questioned the squid monster "How about I'd lend you two of the finest fists the world has ever seen?" suggested Rofer, Dayu casually leaned against the wall holding her shamisen in one hand "I hope you don't brag like that in front of the samurai rangers." Rofer turned to her and warned the female monster "Better watch what you say if it wasn't for Master Xandred where would you be?" Dayu then threw a blade at Rofer which purposely missed and imbedded itself in the wooden wall. She advanced towards Rofer, a bit angry "It's actually you, you should watch what you say to me! You have no right to talk to me you big fisted, little brain nitwit." "Hey I like my big fists and my brain is uh…" "Ugh nitwit!" the sinister monster that Rofer referred to as Master Xandred threw the monster he happened to be choking "Rargh! That's enough! Both of you stop bickering!" he stood up and began walking towards the ship's window gazing at the river below "The Sanzu River can't rise with you standing here, Rofer you get down to the business to getting those humans to cry me a river." Rofer began walking towards the exit of the ship "That's exactly what I came here to do and I won't let any goody two shoes power rangers stop me!"

Back at the household Jayden and Nariko were sitting together in the living room. The two watched as a little robot lion began walking around on the floor before jumping onto the coffee table and on Nariko's head. She giggled at this while Jayden chuckle a bit, the lion then climbed down and jumped onto Jayden's shoulder, folding into a box. Master Ji then strolled into the room carrying a practice sword "Have the both of you seen Mike." Jayden looked at Nariko who shook her head before turning his attention to Master Ji "No…What's going on?" "No one has seen him since he left practice this morning." "Where did he go?" just as he asked his questioned an alarm went off making Nariko clench her kimono a bit "A Nighlok has appeared in the city…" "Jayden and the others will take care of it right away." ordered Master Ji, Jayden nodded at this and before leaving he light put his hands on Nariko's "Don't worry…I'll be back before you know it." she nodded at his answer to which Jayden took it as his signal to leave. Once leaving the household Master Ji sat by Nariko's side "You know there's no need to worry that much Nariko, Jayden and the others can take care of themselves because they're Power Rangers." "I know…But I just can't help it especially for Jayden since…" Ji soothingly rubbed her back hoping to comfort her "I know my dear, I know."

Not having to wait too long Jayden and the others returned with an injured Mike, whom was treated by Nariko with the help of Mia and Emily. While the girls were bandaging up Mike, Jayden, Kevin and Master Ji were watching them a foot away. "Thank goodness you were there, you prevented that Nighlok from injuring lots of people." said Master Ji to Mike "We came as soon as we heard the news." said Jayden, Mike lightly shrug off Nariko who was finishing up his bandages "I thought I could take him on alone." "That was brave of you but imagine what could've happened." said Kevin, Mike sighed in defeat "I know…" Jayden went over to him "Mike…Being a samurai ranger is the ultimate sacrifice since we're fighting evil you must stay away from your family and friends in order to keep them safe." Mike put on his shirt covering his bandaged body "I realize that now but I at least gotta go check on my friends." they simply just watch Mike leave even though Master Ji tried to at least stop him "Mike…" but the ranger brush pass in order to leave the household. Ji looked back at Jayden who just nodded letting Ji know it's all right.

That night the moon was shining brightly over the household and everyone was asleep in their rooms except for Nariko. She laid in bed staring at the ceiling for quite sometime, realizing that she wouldn't be going to sleep anytime soon caused her to get out of bed and leave her room. Nariko roamed around the hall hoping this would at least make her tired when she noticed the door leading out to the training yard was opened. She made her way towards the door and looked outside to see Jayden there, his back facing her with a practice sword in one hand. "Jayden?" called out Nariko, this cause him to quickly turn around, gripping the sword tightly ready to attack. He automatically relaxed once seeing who it was "Oh Nariko." now realizing what time it was Jayden went over to Nariko gently grabbing her by the shoulders "What are you doing out here? It's late and you're suppose to be in bed." "I couldn't sleep…And what about you?" "I was trying to figure out how to sense the enemy's attack…Come on lets get you inside and back to bed you need your rest." Nariko sighed a bit, nodding Jayden then lead her back inside the household to let them both get rest for tomorrow.

The next day Jayden, Mia, Kevin and Emily left the household to fight Rofer who had appeared again. The four were still having a bit of trouble trying to land an attack on the Nighlok until Mike up and came up with a solution on how to defeat Rofer. His plan worked with the help of Jayden but before the rangers could celebrate Rofer came back as a huge Nighlok. This caused the rangers to bring out their foldingzords and combine them into their Samurai Megazord. With it the rangers defeated Rofer, no trouble at all and cheered at their success. Back at the household they returned safe and sound, they entered the living room where Nariko and Master Ji happened to be waiting at. Jayden patted Mike on the back "Good work Mike." "Yeah you were great!" complimented Kevin "The way you tricked that Nighlok was beyond creative." said Mia, Emily began moving her arms around in a wave like motion "It was so cool how you used those wacky arms against him." Kevin patted Mike's back "Couldn't have done it better myself." Mike watched as Jayden took a seat next to Nariko "Well the truth is…I did trick him but it wasn't enough…Actually it was Jayden who help me defeat him I only anticipated the attack of one of his arms Jayden got the other one, I couldn't have done it without him." Jayden stood up smiling at the four "We can do anything as a team." he then stood in front of them and held out his hand, one by one they put their hand over his and all together they said "Rangers together, samurai forever!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The city was currently peaceful today and at the samurai household, the rangers were once again training in the back but this time by themselves. Emily happened to be practicing with a wooden sword when Kevin approached her "Hey Emily, if you have any worries just come to me ok?" she ceased her training and looked at the blue ranger in wonder "Worries?" "Yeah I was thinking…Maybe you miss your family…You know spending time with your sister and all I know you two were really close." Emily smiled at what Kevin said and patted his shoulder "You're a sweetie Kev but I'm fine." he simply just smiled at her answer. With Mike, he was currently working on his symbol power on paper having Nariko watch by his side. Once he finished writing a kanji, the symbol began to glow green and leafs sprayed from the paper. "I finally did it! Booyah!" cheered Mike, Nariko giggled and clapped for the green ranger "Good job Mike you're improving!" both Emily and Kevin happened to saw the whole thing and smiled at their friend's happiness. "Yeah you sure did!" said Emily who then went back to her training while Kevin eagerly went over to Mike who was helping Nariko stand Hey Mike I know how hard you've been working on your symbol powers, it took me years to master if you ever need a talk I'm here for you." Mike have him a little look, slowly nodding "Yeah…Whatever you say dude…" Kevin then turned to Nariko putting his hand on her shoulder "Nariko I know you're still feeling unwell so if you need anything and I mean anything, you can always come to me." "Thanks Kevin I'll keep that in mind." the blue ranger smiled and soon made his way over to Mia seeing if she needed anything. Nariko then made her way over to Jayden and Master Ji with Mike following right behind her. Once reaching the two Mike couldn't help but ask "What's up with Kevin? Why is he so worried about everyone?" Master Ji shook his head while shrugging "I don't know…He's been like that since yesterday…" Nariko looked to Jayden who looked back at her, rubbing her back in comfort.

2 hours later inside the household Nariko was walking through the hall making her way to the kitchen. Upon arriving she went over to the pantry but upon opening the door, Nariko saw there wasn't much to eat. She then went to the refrigerator for a beverage instead, unfortunately there wasn't much to drink either. "Oh dear…We're running low on food and drinks…" muttered Nariko, she left the kitchen to find Ji who happened to be in the living room. Nariko approached the samurai master "Ji…" "Oh Nariko what is it?" "We're running low on food and drinks so I'm gonna go and buy some more." "No absolutely not!" "But Ji!" "It's too dangerous for you to go alone! Bring Jayden with you!" "He's too busy training and I know how you hate it when his training is put on hold." "Nariko…" "Ji I'm not a weak defenseless little girl anymore, you know I can take care of myself besides it's just a trip to the store then back I'm not going anywhere else." he sighed and placed his hands on his hips staring at Nariko, it was silent between the two of them until Ji broke it "It's just a trip to the store right?" "Yes." "No wandering off to someplace else?" "No." "All right you can go but promise me you won't be out too long and you'll hurry back once you bought everything you need." "I promise Ji." Nariko took her leave from the living room and back to hers to change clothes before going into the city.

Minutes after Nariko had left the household, in the living room Master Ji and Mia were picking up dishes from the table after the group had a snack break. While picking up dishes Kevin had just entered the room and quickly took the dishes out of Ji's hand "Here let me help!" both Master Ji and Mia looked at each other before looking at Kevin, suddenly an alarm went off throughout the whole household. Mia looked to the blinking symbol on the wall "The Gap Sensor! A Nighlok has entered into our world!" Master Ji pressed the symbol on the table which showed a map of the city. Upon it showed the Nighlok's location, he then noticed a blinking white dot heading towards the location "Oh no this is not good…" muttered Ji, both Mia and Kevin turned to him "Why? What's wrong Master Ji?" asked Mia "It's Nariko, she's near the Nighlok's location." "What?" soon Jayden, Mike and Emily ran into the living room "What's going?" asked Emily "A Nighlok has appeared and unfortunately though Nariko is heading right towards it." informed Ji, Jayden looked at the samurai master a bit surprised "What? Nariko is out there?" "Yes she went out to get groceries and insisted she go by herself believing that she would be fine…I'm sorry Jayden I should have asked you to go with her." "No it's all right, not your fault I just need to get to Nariko in time, come on guys we need to leave right now." Jayden darted out of the household along with the others, heading towards the location of the Nighlok and Nariko.

Meanwhile Nariko was walking through the park, carrying bags of groceries hand in hand. As she made her way through a park Nariko spotted a two toned Nighlok talking to a little boy. The sight made Nariko drop the bags and quickly approach the two "Hey!" both looked at her only to have the Nighlok answer "What do you want?" "Get away from him!" "Why don't you make me?" the Nighlok then began making his way over to Nariko who quickly got into a fighting stance. Though as the Nighlok took a couple of steps he suddenly stopped "Wait a minute…You look familiar girl…Ah! Now I remember! You're that girl Master Xandred is after! Yeah you're definitely her! Oh boy if I capture and bring you to Master Xandred he'll be so proud of me: Doubletone!" before the Nighlok could take another step Jayden appeared in his ranger form and attacked Doubletone with his sword "You stay away from her!" Kevin and Mike joined Jayden's side to help him fight Doubletone, both Mia and Emily went over to the little boy and instructed him to run away which he did, letting the girls join up the fight also. Unfortunately Doubletone managed to get the upper hand on the rangers and easily escape the fight, once the Nighlok disappeared Nariko went over to the group "Are you guys all right?" "Yeah…But I think that Nighlok is planning something real bad." said Mike "I'm worried about that kid we need to find him!" said Mia, Jayden turned to Nariko and gently grabbed her shoulders "Nariko…I want you to head back to the household this instant while the others and I search for the boy." "I understand…" the rangers watched as Nariko picked up the grocery bags and quickly made her way out of the area before going off their own way to search for the boy.

Later at the household Jayden, Mike and Emily returned after Mia and Kevin found the boy. Currently the three were watching Mia who had returned and was now cooking in the kitchen. The pink ranger had just pulled out a chicken from the oven and Nariko showed up during this time. She was a bit surprised to see Jayden, Mike and Emily at the kitchen door watching Mia. "What are you three doing?" asked Nariko, they quickly turned around shushed her then went back to watching. Nariko stood at Jayden's side and watched Mia cook "What does Mia think she's doing?" "Making a home cooked dinner to take to Kevin he's staking out that baseball kid's house in case that Nighlok returns." answered Mike "But Ji and Nariko does the cooking." Jayden pointed out "Kevin's feeling sad so Mia wants to cheer him up with something a little less fancy you know?" said Emily "Like burnt chicken?" wondered Nariko, Emily just shrugged and they continued to watch the pink ranger cook.

The next morning Nariko was in her room, sitting at an open window and staring out while playing with her necklace. Since she happened to be completely distracted Nariko didn't hear the knock upon her door or the sound of it opening. It happened to be Jayden who stuck his head into her room and spotted Nariko. He walked in carrying a tea cup upon a tray "Nariko?" she snapped out of the daze she was in and looked to the red ranger "Oh Jayden…I didn't hear you come in…" "I brought you your tea." "Thanks." noticing the look on her face Jayden placed the tray on a table and took a seat next to Nariko "Is something wrong?" "Hmm? Oh no it's nothing…I was just simply thinking…" the red ranger noticed Nariko still playing with her necklace "You still wear that necklace?" "Of course I do after all you're the one who gave it to me on my birthday…I never have taken it off since then…" her answer made Jayden smile in turn he gently grabbed Nariko's left hand "I'm happy to hear that from you." suddenly the Gap sensor went off in the household "I've gotta go." said Jayden, Nariko looked at him a bit worried "Jayden…" at the call of his name he looked back at her "Don't worry Nariko I'll be fine, you stay here and rest ok?" "Ok…" the red ranger who happened to be still holding her hand gave it a firm squeeze before letting go and dashing out of Nariko's room.

Minutes passed and Nariko was still in her room but sitting at her table painting a picture. While she painted, the door to her room opened and Jayden quickly entered, he went over to Nariko who ceased her painting upon his arrival and grabbed her hands making her stand "Come on Nariko." "Jayden what's going on?" "There's somewhere that the others and I need to go to and we want you to come along." as he begun leading her out of the room Nariko couldn't help but ask "Where are we going Jayden? Jayden?" Later they arrived at a baseball and joined up with the others rangers at the bleachers. As Jayden and Nariko took their seats with the rangers, Nariko recognized the little boy she saw yesterday "Hey…It's that little boy…" "The little guy is Ryan…Apparently that Nighlok, Doubletone managed to fool Ryan into making a deal with him." answered Kevin "What was the deal?" wondered Nariko "The deal was if Ryan threw away his baseball gear then Doubletone would bring his Dad back who happened to go away since he was in the Army but the truth is Doubletone only wanted Ryan to throw away his dream and use his sadness to make the Sanzu River rise." explained Mia, Nariko sighed "Which is why you can never trust a Nighlok…" she then noticed Jayden pull out his samuraizer who began written a kanji in mid air. The symbol glowed and flew over to Ryan entering his body, then the image of a man dressed in an Army uniform stood behind the boy who immediately turned around "Dad!" "Go get them tiger!" the image then went away which only made the boy smile more before joining up with his teammates. Mike who was surprised by the whole thing lightly nudge Jayden in the shoulder "How did you do that hocus pocus?" "I just helped a dream become a vision but I can only sustain it for a moment." Jayden's answer made Nariko smile and hugged his arm, laying her head upon his shoulder "You're a big sweetheart you know that Jayden?" this only made the red ranger laugh a bit and laid his head against Nariko's as the group continued to watched Ryan's baseball game.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It happened to be just another day of training at the samurai household this time Kevin, Mia and Emily were training inside. Nariko simply just watched the three but was also sketching them at the same time. Then Mike came in wearing a helmet and carrying his skateboard "Hey guys! Guess what?" Kevin who was doing push ups stopped and stood up, wiping his forehead with a towel "What? You overslept again?" "Yeah well that's nothing new!" the girls stopped their little sparring match and went over to Mike "So what's up?" wondered Emily "Ji just told me he wanted us to take the day off." "Really?" "This isn't a joke?" asked Mia "But…We just started our workout…" said Kevin, Mike took off his helmet "Dude are you telling me you're going to disobey a direct order from your samurai mentor?" "Well…I guess not…" Mia then began pacing back and forth "What to do…I could shop for shoes designed for fighting monsters…Or I could catch a flick…" "But it's such a beautiful day! It'd be such ashame to stay coped up inside!" Emily pointed out "Em I could teach you how to shred!" offered Mike "Well…I was thinking about Rainbow's End I never been on a rollercoaster before." "What? Never?" "They don't have amusement parks out where I'm from." "Then it's settled." said Mia "Rainbow's End here we come!" cheered Mike, he then noticed Nariko drawing in the corner "Oh! I almost forgot! Nariko!" she looked up at the call of her name "Yes?" "Master Ji said you can come spend the day off with us! So what do you say? Want to go to Rainbow's End with us?" "Oh I um…" Emily quickly went to her side and placed her hands on Nariko's "Mike is right you should come with us! I mean you really haven't stepped foot outside the household in awhile and besides it would be totally fun with you there with us! So please Nariko come with us?" "Well…" seeing that the yellow ranger was giving her a cute puppy dog look Nariko sighed and smiled a bit "I don't see why not…" Emily began jumping up and down in excitement "Yay!" she then grabbed Nariko's hand and began leading her away "Come on lets head to our rooms so we can change and get going!"

The others soon began to follow and soon bumped into Jayden who had just arrived. "Hey Jayden we're going to the amusement park." said Kevin, Jayden simply gave them a small smile and passed them "Have fun." "You're not coming with us?" asked Mia, Jayden stopped and looked back at them "Not this time…There's something that I need to do." Nariko made her way over to the red ranger gently placing her hands on his arms "Jayden…Come with us…" "I'm sorry Nariko but it's important and I need to get it done…But don't let me ruin your fun for you…" "Jayden…" "Nariko I want you to go out and have fun with the others, it's a bit rare that Ji is letting you out of the household besides I can't remember the last time that you had fun so go on and fun with the others." "Ok…" Jayden gently grabbed her hands and placed a kiss on each one "But do be safe for me." Nariko simply nodded and the red ranger took his leave, Mia went up to her side "You know…Jayden is so mysterious…I wonder what's so important." "So do I Mia…" Mike who was waiting by the door said "Our day off is a wasting Jayden can take care of himself come on!" as they begun to make their leave Nariko couldn't help but stop and look back down the hall where Jayden left, Kevin saw this and stopped by her side placing his hand on her shoulder "You ok Nariko?" "Yeah…I just…Nevermind…Lets go."

At the amusement park Mike and Emily were happily taking in the sight of the rollercoaster while following Kevin, Nariko and Mia. As they were strolling through the park Kevin couldn't help but wonder out loud "I wonder why Jayden didn't come?" "He seemed to have a lot on his mind." Mia pointed out "We'll bring him back some cotton candy to cheer him up!" said Emily, Kevin immediately stopped in his tracks "Wait! Maybe this is a test! A samurai never takes a day off!" the blue ranger turned around to leave the park but Nariko stopped him "Kevin…You need to stop being paranoid…" "Look if he wanted us to stay he would've said so." Mike pointed out, Nariko nodded "He's right I don't think Jayden would take a day off until the last Nighlok is defeated." Kevin nodded in understanding "Ok…I'll stay for awhile." "Whatever Kev the rides are awaiting!" declared Mike who went on ahead of the group, both Mia and Emily grabbed Nariko's hands "Come on Nariko let's check out some of the rides!" said Emily in excitement, Nariko smiled and let the girls lead her away with Kevin closely following after them.

Back at the household Jayden was in a secluded area, hidden from watchful eyes. He had his sword in one hand and an orange disk in the other, the red ranger slipped the disk onto his sword and spin it. This caused the blade of his sword to be surrounded in fire and Jayden began swinging his sword around a bit. Though as he held his sword still in a position, Jayden was overwhelmed by the disk's power that was surging from his sword. The power of it made Jayden be thrown onto his back, his sword fell to the ground and immediately the flame disappeared once it did. The red ranger groaned a bit from the impact and slowly began sitting up just in time to see Master Ji arrive. The samurai mentor crouched down and picked up Jayden's sword, he gazed at it for a moment before turning his attention to the red ranger "You're not ready to use the Beetle Disk yet. You're literally playing with fire." Ji stood up straight still holding the red ranger's sword "Jayden…you must be prepared to give 100% of yourself not just physically but mentally." "But I'm giving 110%!" retorted Jayden, the samurai mentor nodded "Yes…But you're lacking balance in your life, you're pushing yourself too hard and that's not letting you be at your best." Jayden finally gotten up and slowly walked over to Ji "Yeah…Maybe I am pushing myself hard…But I am the red ranger now I have to be the best and keep getting better." "It's about Nariko isn't it Jayden?" the red ranger stopped and stared at the samurai mentor for a moment, he then grabbed his sword from Ji's grasp and turned to resume training. Ji sighed and went up to Jayden's side "I understand why you stayed behind to train today, but there was a time when you and Nariko were younger when you both trained hard but the two of you still allowed yourselves to have fun, though the day Nariko became ill it changed our lives mainly for you Jayden, you're trying to do everything you can in order to protect Nariko and make her happy, I know you wanted to go with the others especially with Nariko today." "The Nighlok grow stronger and Nariko is the only one who has mastered the disk but now that she's ill I have to master it for her before it's too late! After all…She's my fiance and it's my duty to protect her from any harm!" "The responsibility you bear is great but while you need to master the disk you also need to master balance in your life as a samurai and I know for certain Nariko would say the same thing to you Jayden." the red ranger was still for a moment, deep in though before resuming his training with the Beetle Disk.

Meanwhile at Rainbow's End, after going on some rides the rangers and Nariko decided to have a little break and have lunch. "Wow that ride was so much fun!" said Mia, Emily nodded "Yeah, totally!" the yellow ranger turned to Nariko who happened to be eating a celery stick "What about you Nariko? Did you like that ride?" "Definitely! I just…Can't remember the last time I ever had fun like this…Though I wish Jayden was here to enjoy it also…" feeling sympathy for her Emily rubbed Nariko's shoulder hoping the action would comfort her. They continued to chat happily with each other when the group heard a frightened cry "Help!" they all looked towards the sound of the cry, Kevin quickly stood from his seat "That sounds like trouble!" Mia put down the churro stick she was eating and got up also "So much for my normal day." Emily turned to Nariko "I think it's best that you return to the household for now Nariko you know…" "I understand all of you be careful." Emily, Mia and Kevin nodded soon taking their leave, Nariko couldn't help but giggle a bit as she watched Mike trying to finish off his churro stick before running off to catch up with the others.

20 minutes passed and back at the household the rangers returned after the Nighlok: Dreadhead escaped from battle. "Man that monster was working some bad mojo." said Mike who took a seat on the living room's soft cushion chair. "I don't mean to sound like that Nighlok but…Our spin swords and our symbol power well…Useless…" admitted Mia, Kevin began pacing around the room "It's scary to think on what he could've done to us if he hadn't dried out." "No thanks I rather figure out on how we could beat him." declared Emily, Ji stood up from his seat nodding "Exactly Emily! Fear is the enemy! If you believe in yourselves you can win any battle! Confidence brings power!" "You weren't there! Our weapons couldn't touch him!" reminded Mike, Jayden who happened to sitting right next to Nariko stood up "That's not true, don't forget we did injure him. I'm working on mastering a new power." Jayden walked to the front of the living and turned to everyone pulling out the Beetle disk showing it to them. Once setting eyes upon it Nariko stood up and went over to him "So that's what you've been doing today…" "A new disk! What is it?" wondered Kevin, Nariko turned to the others "there are secret disks passed down from previous generations of samurai." "Most of them have been lost in battle this maybe the only one left, with this we at least stand a chance at beating the Nighlok." said Jayden, Natsumi turned back to him "However in order to master this disk one needs double the samurai power that they have." he stared at her for a moment then turned his attention to his team "Don't worry you all focus on recovering." "But twice as much power? Can you handle that?" questioned Mike "Thanks to Ji I've been trained to believe that I can do anything I put my mind to." "So why didn't you use it earlier?" Jayden remained quiet for a moment then replied "Next time…" he turned away from everyone and began walking down the hall. Nariko stared after him for a second before quickly following after the red ranger.

She soon caught up to him and grabbed his arm "Jayden!" he stopped and turned to her "Nariko…" "Tell me what's on your mind I don't like it when you're acting this way." "Do I really have it in me to master this disk just like you did?" "Jayden…" "I'll train every night and day if I have to!" "Jay…" "I know what you're going to say I can handle it and no matter what I will master it for everyone's sake including yours." before Nariko could say another word Jayden quickly walked away. Surprised by this she stared after him and called out "Jayden!" the red ranger continued on, walking around a corner causing Nariko to tiredly sighed and close her eyes. That night Jayden was once again training in the secluded area to master the Beetle Disk. As he trained both Ji and Nariko came to watch in secret, the two quickly crouched behind a rock paid close attention to the training. Jayden was then thrown onto his back again at the power of the disk "Jayden!" lightly exclaimed Nariko, she stood and was about to go to him but Ji grabbed her shoulder and made her crouch back down "No Nariko!" "But Ji!" "He needs to do this on his own just like you did!" knowing that he was right Nariko continued to watch Jayden in worry. The red ranger slowly stood and picked up his weapon thus resuming his training only to be thrown upon his back again at the power. Nariko's worry for her red ranger began to grow and caused her to bite her lip as she continued to watch. Jayden began to slowly stand again "My team…Nariko…The whole world is depending on me! I can do this! I must do this!" he picked up his weapon and prepared to train again, Nariko who of course heard the whole thing had a tear slid down her cheek. She then stood up and stepped away from the rock, facing Jayden "Believe in yourself! I know you can do it Jayden! I believe in you!" just by seeing his fiancé stand there cheering him on gave Jayden the strength he needed to continue his training.

The next morning Nariko had gone back to the secluded training area to check on Jayden after getting some sleep. Upon arriving she saw the red ranger laying on the ground unconscious with his weapon right in front of him. Nariko quickly went over to his side and gently started to shake him "Jayden! Are you ok?" she brushed his hair away from his face and stared down at him in worry "You should have given it a rest…But you acted the same way when you were a little kid, insisted on doing things until you got sick…You will never stop trying to save others and never cease protecting me I understand that…" Nariko then shook Jayden a bit harder "Jayden wake up! The Nighlok is back!" once hearing this the red ranger immediately woke up and slowly stood, he stumbled a bit having Nariko quickly support him. Jayden panted a bit and looked at her "It's time to clash again." she nodded and kissed his cheek "You be careful out there…" Jayden gave her a small smile and took his leave to join up with the others to fight Dreadhead again.

Later Jayden successfully mastered the Beetle Disk and used it against Dreadhead, with the power of the disk it helped the rangers defeat the Nighlok once and for all as the monster came back as a giant. The rangers then returned to Rainbow's End with Nariko and this time Jayden tagged along. As Kevin, Mike, Mia and Nariko were strolling along, the pink ranger looked at her friends "I'm so glad Mentor gave us another day off!" "It's only fair since our last one involved fighting Nighlok!" Mike pointed out "Well if Mentor felt that it was all right I guess I shouldn't argue." admitted Kevin, the 4 stopped just as Emily showed up with some cotton candy "Who's gonna argue with cotton candy?" while handing Mia, Kevin and Mike the sweet treat, Jayden showed with two more cotton candy and handed one to Nariko who smiled, happily accepting it. "This really isn't in line with my training diet." admitted Kevin "That's true but it's ok, cotton candy and a day off from training is good for you, Ji reminded me that keeping balance in life is important it lets us be at our best." said Jayden, Kevin simply shrug and took a bite out of his treat. Mike then wrapped his arm around the blue ranger's shoulders and began leading off "Come on you stick in the mud the rides are this way!" both Emily and Mia began following after the two "Gosh my first rollercoaster!" exclaimed the yellow ranger, as the others went ahead Nariko looked at Jayden "Shall we?" "We shall." he wrapped his arm around her waist making Nariko smile and she began eating her cotton candy, letting Jayden lead them to follow after the others.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

_**It was early in the morning with the sun slowly making its ascend to the sky as the rangers were training at the household once again. Nariko, Mentor Ji and Jayden watched from the sides as Mia, Kevin, Emily and Mike paired off to practice with their practice wooden swords. While the 4 rangers practiced Nariko covered her mouth and gave out a yawn, Jayden who was standing right next to her, looked to his fiancé "You know if you're still tired you can always go back to bed Nariko." "No I'm fine." "Are you sure?" Nariko looked at the red ranger and smiled "Yes I'm sure but thanks for asking me Jayden." "You know that I care for you dearly Nariko." "I know and it makes me happy that you're not afraid to show that in front of everyone." she then grabbed Jayden's hand and held it tightly, laying her head against his shoulder. Jayden smiled at his and held Nariko's hand back, the couple turning their attention back to their friends' training. Soon Nariko had her attention caught by Emily who was training hard with Mike, knocking the green ranger off his feet during their practice sword fight. "Wow…I'm impressed…Emily is usually the one falling over…But it's different when she uses a sword in her hand." admitted Nariko, Jayden chuckled a bit as he too saw the scene played out "Maybe she could teach Mike a few things." they continued to watch as Emily apologized to Mike who stood up. The yellow ranger then began checking to see if he was ok even though Mike assured her he was fine, but that didn't stop Emily who tried to check for injuries and in turn Mike began running away right into the household with the yellow ranger quickly following after. Both Jayden and Nariko looked at each other before laughing a bit, while Mentor Ji sighed a bit and shook his head.**_

_**10 minutes later inside the household, Mike was sitting in the living room upon a cushion seat rubbing his back to sooth the slight pain he was feeling. Emily had set up a bowl with 2 bags of frozen peas in the middle of the hall way just now and picked up a bag, going over to Mike holding it out toward him "Here!" "Frozen peas?" "It's like an ice pack, I was accident prone when I was a kid and it always healed me right up! Here let me-" she went over to Mike who quickly stood up and away from here "No thanks!" "You really should Mike!" Nariko, Mia and Kevin who happened to be in the living room just watch the two run around the room then to the small dojo and back again. As they were making their way back to the living room Emily exclaimed to Mike "Come on! It'll make you feel better!" Unfortunately though the yellow ranger stepped on the bowl holding the second bag of frozen peas and slipped, making her fall on top of the bag she was holding to her chest. In turn the bag ripped open and all the frozen peas came spilling out upon the floor. Nariko quickly got up and went to the yellow ranger's side "Oh my! Emily are you ok?" she lifted up her face to reveal some frozen peas stuck on her cheeks and forehead, Emily spitted out some that were in her mouth. The yellow ranger then took a good look at the mess she made "They're everywhere!" she began wiping the peas off her face "I'm such a disaster!" Nariko held Emily's hands down and began wiping her face with a cloth "No you're not you were doing a nice thing." Mike kneeled by Nariko's side guilty looking at Emily "I'm so sorry…" "No it's my fault I was being silly…I'm always messing things up…Don't worry I'll clean it up…" as the yellow ranger began standing up she slipped on the peas again only to have Nariko catch her, Emily couldn't help but whine a bit in sadness "Oh no…Not again!"**_

_**5 minutes later in the kitchen Nariko handed Emily a glass of water before going over to the sink and wash dishes. Emily sipped some of the water and began gargling it, not noticing Mike entering the kitchen and over to her. Once reaching her side Mike asked "You ok?" startled by his sudden appearance Emily turned and sprayed water all over the green ranger. Nariko who had witnessed this had to turn away and silently giggle, Emily quickly grabbed a small towel and began wiping Mike's face "Oh no! I'm always making a mess!" she then tried to grab the dust pan Mike was holding but he held it away from her "I'll sweep! It was all my fault and-" "You don't have to always apologize for everything, everyone pitched in to clean up besides you were just trying to help." Mike put the dust pan away and stood at Emily's side ho began playing with the small towel "I wish I was more like Mia…And you Nariko…You're both beautiful and graceful, the two of you are even smart and can cook." Nariko turned off the sink water and went over to Emily wiping her hands, chuckling a bit "Well…I'm not too sure about the cooking part for Mia…" "But Nariko every time I try to do something nice or good I just turn it into some big mess I can't do anything right…I'm hopeless…" Nariko placed her hands on the yellow ranger's shoulders "Emily…I'm being serious here when I say it's not good to talk about yourself like that…Give yourself a break…" Mike smiled a bit and nodded "Nariko is right, Emily…" the blonde girl couldn't help but smile and gave Nariko a tight hug.**_

_**At the household's pond garden Nariko sat upon the small bench and simply got lost staring at the beauty of the garden. Yet as she had her complete undivided attention on the garden, her eyes were covered by someone's hands who asked "Guess who?" Nariko placed her hands over the person's and immediately took notice of their slightly rough skin "Jayden?" the person took their hands away letting Nariko look back of her to see it really was her fiancé who smiled at her "Surprised?" "A bit but I knew it was you." Jayden chuckled and took a seat next to Nariko "So what are you doing out here by yourself? I thought you would be at least with the others." "Oh I just wanted come out here and think that's all." "About what?" "Stuff…" "What kind of stuff?" "You know…Stuff…" Jayden gave her a little look "Nariko…Are you keeping things from me?" she began tapping her cheek in thought "Hmm…Maybe…" Nariko stopped once noticing Jayden was still giving her a look, she laughed and shook her head "I'm just kidding with you Jayden, you know I would never keep a secret from you." "Good because either way I would find out about it sooner or later…Nariko I want you to close your eyes." "Huh? What for?" "Just close them…" she crossed her arms and pouted a bit "Fine…" once Nariko closed her Jayden carefully pulled out something from his pocket and held it inside his hand. He then put his hand in front of his fiancé's "Ok you can open them." Nariko did as she was told only to look confusedly at the red ranger's closed hand. Jayden smiled once seeing her look and slowly opened his hand to reveal a beautiful pink flower. Nariko gasped at the sight of the lovely flower "Oh Jayden! How did you manage to get a cherry blossom?" "I have my ways." he then placed the cherry blossom in Nariko's hair "There…You look wonderful with that flower Nariko…" "Thank you Jayden…" the couple stared deeply into each others eyes and slowly began leaning in for a kiss. Just as their lips were about to touch, to their dismay a voice called out "Jayden!" they stopped and looked to the caller to see it was Mentor Ji who said "A Nighlok has appeared in the city!" the red ranger sighed and looked back at his fiancé "I have to go…" "I know…" "I'll come back though…" "And I'll be waiting…" Jayden then got up from the bench and ran back towards the household with Nariko watching the red ranger take his leave.**_

_**Minutes passed and the rangers returned to the household after the Nighlok: Negatron escaped, not before injuring the group with his insults except for Emily. Currently everyone was in the living room having a meeting on today's event Mentor Ji began slowly pacing back and forth in front of the group "That Nighlok is a bully, he likes to hurt people's feelings, he channels mental pain and turns it into physical pain." "He caught me off guard, it won't happen again." admitted Mia "Hey listen…I may have had training wheels but I didn't need them." confessed Mike, the pink ranger couldn't help but asked "And…I'm a good cook right?" it was silent for just a second and the others nodded. Remembering what Negatron said to him Kevin asked his friends "Am I boring to you guys?" "You're extremely orderly and disciplined Kevin, it's a great quality for a samurai." answered Jayden "Yeah…You're right it is." Mike then looked to Mentor Ji "Emily was the only one who wasn't affected that Nighlok knew exactly how to hurt us, why couldn't he hurt her?" Ji placed his hand upon the yellow ranger's shoulder "Perhaps Emily has some special power…" "It's nothing great like that I was teased and called names as a kid made me sad…But my sister told me to just pretend that the person teasing me didn't say anything at all and it really worked so when the Nighlok said those things to me it was like he didn't even say them…" "Then why are you always putting yourself down? It makes no sense unless it's what you really think about yourself." said Mike, Emily began to feel sad and looked at the floor "Well no but…" seeing her sad made Nariko hit Mike in the shoulder who happened to be sitting right next to her "Mike!" "Ow!" he looked at her holding his shoulder in pain and looked back at Emily, her sadness easily showing to everyone "I'm sorry I…" the yellow ranger then got up and quickly left the room with everyone watching. Not liking that Emily was upset, Nariko turned to Mike and scolded him "Mike! The Nighlok can't hurt her feelings but you can!" realizing what he had done Mike groaned "Oh man…"**_

_**Later the rangers headed out of the household as Negatron appeared in the city again. While they were gone Nariko was sitting by the pond garden once more in deep thought, not noticing that Mentor Ji was approaching her who then called out her name "Nariko!" she didn't answer him causing the samurai mentor to place his hand on her shoulder "Nariko." this caused her to jump a bit at his touch and quickly turn around "Oh Ji! You had me scared for a moment…" "Is something wrong?" "No…Why do you ask?" "Because it looks like something is troubling you." "It's nothing." "Are you sure?" "Yes." "This has nothing to do with your family, the Yamada clan?" Nariko abruptly stood up from the bench "No it doesn't Ji! So just drop it!" her sudden outburst happened to surprise Ji greatly "Nariko…" "L-Look I'm sorry…I didn't mean to snap at you like that…It's just I have a lot on my mind at this moment…" the samurai mentor gently grabbed Nariko's shoulders "I understand…Forgive me if I went too far…" "No there's no need for you to apologize, you did nothing wrong Ji…You think I can go out for a little walk just to clear my mind a bit?" "Of course just be careful out there." Nariko simply nodded and headed back inside the household to change her clothes before going out on her walk.**_

_**20 minutes passed and Nariko was walking on a bridge near a park trying to clear her mind of things. She stopped and leaned against the bridge railing, tiredly sighing while rubbing the back of her neck "Ugh! This is so frustrating!" "Hey Nariko!" she turned around at the call of her voice to see the rangers heading for the stairs leading up to the bridge. Nariko went over and met with up with the group "Oh hey you guys." "What are you doing out here by yourself?" asked Kevin "Ji let me go out and have a little walk to get a little bit of fresh air." "Well since you're here you want to get some ice cream? There's an ice cream truck waiting." said Mia, Nariko smiled and nodded "Yeah I'd like that." "Well then come on! Sweet delicious ice cream is waiting for us!" exclaimed Emily, she got off of Mike's back and began running for the ice cream truck with Mike, Mia and Kevin following leaving Jayden behind with Nariko. As the other rangers went ahead Jayden walked over to his fiancé's side "What's wrong Nariko?" "Why do you always think that something is wrong with me?" "Nariko I've known you since we were little and I can easily tell when something is bothering you." "Jayden I'm telling you there's noth-" Jayden cut her off by claiming Nariko's lips in a kiss, she stiffened a bit at the sudden action but then relaxed and closed her eyes returning the kiss. The two slowly pulled away and stared into each other's eyes, Jayden then cupped Nariko's cheek "I know you refused to talk about what's on your mind right now but promise me you'll tell me when you're ready." "Jayden…I promise…" he kissed her forehead before grabbing her hand "Come on lets go get some ice cream." Nariko smiled and let her red ranger lead her to the ice cream truck where Mia, Kevin, Mike and Emily were waiting.**_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was morning at the samurai household, everyone was wide awake and currently Jayden, Nariko, Mike and Emily were in the living room having their breakfast. While Jayden, Mike and Emily were eating their bowl of cereal and Nariko eating a rice ball, the 4 watched as Kevin was carefully putting different kinds of cereal into his bowl. The blue ranger stopped once he noticed they were watching him "What are you doing? Just eat already!" said Mike "There's a right way to do everything in the samurai code." declared Kevin "Wow you're so round up I'm not surprise you can't digest you food." the blue ranger simply rolled his eyes at Mike's remark. Mia soon joined up with the others holding a tray with dish being covered "I came up with a new recipe everybody loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches right?" she placed the tray on the table and pulled off the lid revealing the food "So for breakfast what could be better than a PB&J omelet?" all their eyes widen as they saw Mia's cooking, Mike began rubbing his stomach "Oh darn I'm stuff I just ate! Rain check?" Kevin quickly poured milk into his cereal bowl and quickly began eating his breakfast, Mike turned to his friend "Precision and discipline huh?" Mentor Ji then entered the room a bit excited "Everyone I have excellent news the missing Swordfish Zord has been spotted at Limitor Beach." Mia looked at the mentor a bit confused "A swordfish?" "A zord that went missing in action years ago if we don't catch it now who knows when we'll have another chance." suddenly the Gap sensor went off making Nariko look at it "A Nighlok attack…" Jayden stood up and thought for a moment soon turning to the blue ranger "Kevin!" "Yes?" "We'll take care of the Nighlok and I want you to go capture that Swordfish zord are you up for a solo mission?" "Up for it? I've been waiting my whole life for it!" "With your mastery of symbol power over water I'm confident you'll capture that zord."

Once Kevin had left the household and to the beach to capture the Swordfish zord Mentor Ji, Mia, Mike, Emily and Jayden were in the living room simply just sitting there waiting. While they waited Nariko came walking in, carrying a lot of scrolls in her arms though she was struggling a bit just to hold them. To her dismay a lot of scrolls fell out of her arms and onto the floor, she sighed and was about to pick them up until Mentor Ji, Mike, Emily and Mia got up to help her. "Here let me take those from you Nariko." said Mike, he gathered the rest of the scrolls that were still in her arms causing Nariko to protest a bit "But you don't-" "Nariko we'll take care of these scrolls from here besides I want you to go to your bedroom and get some rest, later I'll give you your medicine." said Ji not liking where this was going Nariko angrily sighed a bit and stormed out of the room. Jayden who had witnessed her reaction got up from his seat and quickly followed after his fiancé. The red ranger soon found Nariko sitting by her favorite pond garden and made his way over to her. He found that she was staring at her hands clenching her kimono tightly. Jayden sat right next to Nariko and turned to her "Nariko…What's wrong?" she simply shook her head, not liking this at all the red ranger gently placed his left hand over Nariko's right "I don't like the fact that you're not willing to talk about things that bother you, please Nariko tell me what's wrong?" "I hate how everyone here is treating me! That's what's wrong!" "What do you mean?" "Ever since I've fallen ill from Master Xandred's powers, I can barely do anything without having the others and Mentor Ji babying me all the time! And since Ji is doing it a lot lately it's making me angry that they think since I'm ill I need to be taken care of 24/7 which I don't need!" "Nariko they're only doing that because we care for you greatly." "I know but it's getting to the point where I feel they consider me weak and defenseless which I'm not!" "And I know that…" Jayden placed his finger under Nariko's chin and made her turn her head to look at him "Look I'll talk to Ji and the others about this in the meantime I want you to calm down and try to relax ok?" "Ok…" "Jayden!" the couple look behind them to see Mike standing a few feet away "Jayden a Nighlok has a appeared in the city we gotta go!" "All right!" the red ranger then look back at his fiancé "Remember what I said." "I won't." "I'll be back as soon as I can." "Be careful Jayden." he nodded and kiss Nariko's forehead before getting up and leaving with Mike to deal with current Nighlok attacking the city.

20 minutes have passed at the household and Nariko was currently napping in her room when she felt someone shaking her shoulder "Nariko! Wake up Nariko I need you!" the Yamada girl groaned and opened her eyes to find Mentor Ji standing over her "Ugh…Ji? What's going on? Couldn't you see I was sleeping?" "I know and I'm sorry but the rangers…" once he mentioned the rangers, Nariko quickly sat up in bed "What? What's wrong?" "Come see for yourself." she quickly got out of bed and followed Ji out of her room and to the healing room to find Jayden, Emily, Mia and Mike laying in bed. The 4 groaned and coughed as they lay upon their beds Nariko quickly went to Emily who was the closest to her "Oh my…Are you guys ok?" none answered her as they continued their groaning and coughing. She then felt the yellow ranger's forehead "A fever…" Nariko then checked Mia and Mike to see they also have fevers "I'm not liking the looks of this…" the Yamada girl then went over to her fiancé's side "Oh Jayden…All of you have exactly the same sickness…" Mentor Ji stood by her side "Nariko go get them ice packs and try to cool down their fevers I'll contact Kevin tell him what has happened." she nodded and quickly left the room to retrieve the packs.

5 minutes later all 4 rangers were holding an ice pack to their heads but it didn't help with their fever at all. Nariko was kneeling by Jayden's bed and held his hand, staring at him in worry as he continued to cough and groan in pain. She then overheard Ji who was on the phone with Kevin in the living room "Kevin…The rangers have been poisoned…Yes they all inhaled the Nighlok's stench their fevers are next to impossible to recover from…No! The archives say they can only be saved by a purifying power I think the oceanic powers of the Swordfish zord could do it, Kevin you must catch it and bring it back here fast I fear it maybe our only hope." Nariko couldn't help but grip Jayden's hand a bit tighter, angered at the thought of not being any help to everyone right now. Soon Mentor Ji returned to the room to join Nariko in watching over the four rangers when the Gap Sensor went off. The samurai mentor look to the blinking sensor on top of the wall "Oh no not now!" he then stepped out of the room to contact Kevin, Jayden got up at the same time Ji left the room. Nariko looked at him a bit surprised "Jayden! You shouldn't be up!" "But the Gap sensor Nariko…That Nighlok is back…" she just helplessly watch her fiancé leave the room still being affected by the poison. Not able to take this anymore Nariko sneaked out of the room without Ji and Jayden seeing her and quickly ran to her room. She pulled out a wooden case from under her bed and open it, Nariko then took out a beautiful naginata that had a handcrafted blade. The Yamada girl then headed towards the front door to the household and once reaching it she saw Jayden leaning against the wall with Mentor Ji trying to convince him not to go. Nariko stopped and stared at the two for a moment before slamming the doors open and running off. Both Jayden and Ji looked to the doors once hearing them slam just in time to see Nariko leaving form. "Nariko! I've got to stop her!" exclaimed Jayden, he then ran out of the household with Ji calling after him "No wait Jayden!"

Nariko soon reached a parking garage where the Nighlok: Yamiror was terrorizing innocent people. As the Nighlok had its back turned Nariko took this as an opportunity to strike with her naginata. Yamiror stumbled a bit before turning to the Yamada "What in the? And just who are you little girl?" "The one who's going to defeat you!" "Lets see you try girly!" the two charged at each other and began their fight, though while they fought Nariko was able to get more blows on Yamiror which began angering him "How could a human like you be able to hurt me so much?" "That's because you underestimate me!" but once Nariko landed another attack on the Nighlok, she immediately stopped in her tracks and began to have a coughing one that made her fell to her knees. Yamiror began approaching her happy at what he was seeing "Aw…What's the matter? Feeling under the weather? Too bad because now I can finish you off!" before the Nighlok could even do anything Jayden arrived attacked Yamiror with his sword "Oh no you don't!" the Nighlok stumbled backwards and fell upon its back from the sudden blow. Jayden then turned to his fiancé "Nariko! Are you all right?" she continued to cough, not able to answer his question at all, Yamiror got back on his feet and charged at the couple "That's it! I'm getting very annoyed and I'm finish you off here and now!" though he was stopped by Mike appearing and giving the Nighlok a hard kick to the chest. Both Emily and Mia went to the couple's side, Jayden looked at his fellow rangers "You shouldn't be here you're sick!" "Oh yeah? And you're fit as a fiddle?" questioned Mike, the red ranger soon noticed that the Nighlok was going to attack "Look out!" while Mike, Emily and Mia began to shield themselves, Jayden pulled Nariko; who was now unconscious due to her sickness close to him preparing to protect her with his body. Once Yamiror shot lasers at the rangers, the attack was blocked by a robotic blue dragon. The rangers looked to see their blue ranger standing there, Jayden smiled at him in relief "Kevin!" the blue ranger then pulled out his Hydro bow and attached the power disk he captured the Swordfish zord in. Kevin then aimed the bow to the sky and shot an arrow. Then from out of nowhere it began to rain.

Once the rain fell upon the rangers, they were immediately healed from the poison. "It worked! That swordfish healed us!" exclaimed Mia "That fish is off the hook!" declared Mike, Jayden then looked to his fiancé once hearing her groan in pain "Nariko? Nariko what's wrong?" suddenly a dark purple cloud began coming out of her body, the rangers watched as the cloud began slowly dispersing right before their eyes. Jayden was surprised once seeing the dark purple cloud "Was that what I think it was?" he then looked back at Nariko gently shaking her "Nariko! Nariko wake up! Please wake up for me!" she groaned a tiny bit before slowly opening her eyes and stared at the red ranger "Jayden?" "Nariko how are you feeling?" "Like…A huge weight has been lifted from my body…" realizing she hadn't had this kind of feeling in a long time Nariko gripped Jayden's shirt a little "Jayden…Am I?" "Yes…Since you were exposed to the Swordfish zord's healing powers it completely healed you from Master Xandred's powers." this brought tears to Nariko's eyes and she wrapped her arms around Jayden's neck hugging him tightly. "Uh sorry to break up this little happy moment but we've still got a Nighlok to deal with." said Mike, both Jayden and Nariko stood up together and the red ranger looked at his fiancé "You think you'll be fine heading back to the household?" "Definitely and do me a favor teach that Nighlok a lesson!" "With pleasure." the Yamada girl then picked up her weapon and dashed off leaving the rangers to deal with Yamiror once and for all.

Later at the beach Mia, Emily, Mike, Kevin, Jayden and Nariko were taking a stroll along the shore. While they were walking Kevin couldn't help but stare at the Swordfish disk in his hands. Mike took a big whiff of the air "Ah! The sweet smell of success!" both Mia and Emily then grabbed the green ranger's arms and drag him off towards the water to get wet. As they played Kevin stopped and watched them along with Jayden and Nariko, the red ranger then turned to his companion "So how does it feel to see all that training pay off?" "It feels great but it wasn't just my training…You know all the practice and dedication in the world doesn't mean much unless you truly believe in yourself too." Nariko walked over to the blue ranger "I want to thank you Kevin, without you catching the Swordfish zord and using its powers I would have never been cured of my long time illness and for that I'm forever grateful to you." "You're welcome Nariko and I'm very glad you're now back to your old self." she smiled and gave the blue ranger a kiss on the cheek before turning to Jayden "Ji and I had a talk earlier…" "And?" "We sorted things out and both apologized to each other…But he's really happy and relieved that I'm no longer ill." "Everyone is…Especially me." "Hey you guys!" called Mia, the three looked at her and she continued "Next time we have a day off we should come back and spend a whole day at the beach!" "Only if you promise to bring some sunscreen! Man I'd fry out here!" said Kevin, they all chuckled and before Jayden could do anything he was soon dragged towards the water by Nariko "Come on Jay I wanna see you get wet!" "Not if I get you wet first!" all of them soon had a blast playing in the water and getting their clothes very drenched from all their playing. 


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

_Today happened to be a little bit different than the others, that's because the rangers, Mentor Ji and Nariko were currently at a church for a special reason. There at the alter stood Nariko in a beautiful wedding dress and Jayden in a very good looking tuxedo. Mia, Emily, Mike, Kevin and Mentor Ji sat in the audience and happily watched the priest talk to the couple "Dearly beloved…We are gathered here today to join these two people in holy matrimony, this occasion marks the celebration of love and commitment with which this man and this woman begun their life together…" while the priest continued on Mentor Ji pulled out a handkerchief and began drying his eyes a little, Mike saw this and quietly laughed a bit "Dudes…Check out Mentor with the waterworks." but as he turned to Kevin who was sitting behind him, Mike was surprised to see the blue ranger crying and sniffling. Kevin stopped his crying for a moment once seeing Mike looking at him "What? It's just allergies…T-The flowers!" the green ranger slowly turned and faced the front letting Kevin to continue crying. Emily and Mia who were paying attention to the wedding couldn't help but admire Nariko's dress. "Wow…Nariko looks so beautiful!" said Emily, breathtaking by the ceremony. Mia had a big smile on her face and nodded "Yeah she does…" Mike who really didn't like what he was seeing, slowly sink down into his seat "Someone get me outta here!" "You promise to one another to aspire to these ideals throughout the rest of your lives together…Love is patient, love is kind…" said the priest causing Mike to sink down in his seat more "I think I'm gonna be sick!" "Do you promise to be faithful to her forsaking all others for the rest of your life?" both Nariko and Jayden looked at each other then back at the priest nodding. "If any person can show just cause as to why they may not be joined together…" said the priest only to be cut off by Ji's cell phone ringing, everyone looked at the mentor who immediately answered his phone "Hello?…They took the bride?…Ok…" he hanged up and looked at everyone "The Nighloks didn't take the bait." "I thought our fake wedding would've worked for sure!" said Emily, Ji shook his head "Not this time…The Moogers stormed the church downtown and kidnapped another bride…" everyone looked at each other, feeling upset about the outcome just now._

_Later back at the household, everyone gathered in the living room for a meeting on the bride situation. Currently they were sitting around the table looking at the map to the city "That makes it 5 brides kidnapped." muttered Ji, Mike then noticed something and began tracing a pattern on the map "Hey look it's a pattern…In the shape of a star…" Kevin took a closer look at it and nodded "You're right! Have you study maps and crime patterns before?" "Mmm…Kind of…I've watched a lot of cop shows." "Too much was left up to chance we have to make sure to lure them in before any more brides are taken." said Jayden "I can't even begin to imagine what those poor girls are going through I mean…This is suppose to be the happiest day of their lives!" said Mia, Emily thought for a moment before turning to Mentor Ji "Do you think that they taken those brides to the Sanzu River?" Nariko firmly shook her head 'No…The living can't survive there for long…The Moogers must have used the Gap to take them somewhere else." "Wherever they are if our sting operation would have worked we could've helped those poor brides." said Mia "We have to try again." suggested Jayden "Yeah but how do we get to come our way?" wondered Kevin, Mentor Ji brought out a long list of weddings that are taking place "Here's a list of the weddings in our area." Mike, Kevin, Mia and Emily took a close look at the list "There's so many weddings…That's the problem." said Emily, Jayden sat there thinking for a moment once coming up with a plan he looked at everyone "I have a plan." as he said that Nariko quickly looked towards the clock "Oh dear what time is it?" she got up from her seat next to Jayden "I've got to go." "Where are you going Nariko?" asked Ji "Don't tell me you forgot Ji! Today at 3 Kagu wants me to meet her at the dress store to pick out my bridesmaids outfit for her upcoming wedding and you know how she gets." "Ah yes…Do you want any of the rangers or me to accompany you?" "No there's no need besides you're dealing with this situation besides I'll be all right?" "If you say so…" Nariko then turned to Jayden "Well I'm off." "Give me a call once you reach the store, you got your cell phone with you?" "Of course now go and find those missing brides Jayden!" "Don't worry I will." Nariko smiled and gave her fiancé a kiss on the cheek, then leaving the room and out of the household to meet up with her friend Kagu._

_20 minutes later at a dress boutique Nariko was with her friend Kagu looking through the racks for a bridesmaid dress. "You know when I heard the news that you weren't ill anymore from my parents I was literally jumping for joy…I mean how long ago was it since you became ill?" said Kagu "It felt like a long time to me…But I'm glad that I don't have to deal with it anymore." said Nariko "So am I! Since now you can be apart of my wedding Nariko, and of course I'll be part of your wedding whenever you and Jayden plan to have it…By the way how is the red ranger of yours?" "He's doing fine so far, right now he and the other rangers are trying to find the missing brides." "Oh I heard about that! Poor girls…" Kagu stopped once coming to a dress that caught her interest "Hmm…" she took it off the rack and walked over to Nariko who was about to search another rack. Kagu grabbed Nariko's shoulder and turned her around, handing her friend the dress "Here try this one on!" "W-What? Wait a minute Kagu…" she turned the Yamada back around and began pushing her to the fitting room "Stop dawdling and get a move on!" once standing outside a fitting room Nariko entered and closed the door not before muttering "Sometimes I wonder how you and I became friends…" "Because you admired my acting so much ever since you saw my first performance when we were children." "I suppose…" Kagu then waited as Nariko began to change her clothes, after 3 minutes have passed and not being a patient one Kagu began tapping her foot "Come on Nariko! I haven't got all day!" "All right I'm coming!" the door to the fitting room opened and Nariko stepped out wearing the dress. Kagu looked at her friend for a moment before placing her hands on her cheek and cooing "Oh Nariko look at you! You look so wonderful in that dress and the shoes match too! It's perfect to wear at my wedding!" Nariko went over to the mirror and took a good look at herself, she twirled around a bit "Oh my it is wonderful!" "Wait here I'll go pay for the dress right now!" as Kagu hurried over to the cash register Nariko continued to admire herself in the mirror feeling a bit excited. Unfortunately it had to end Nariko quickly looked towards the register once hearing Kagu and the cash register lady scream. She was surprised to find Moogers storming into the store, two Moogers went and cornered both Kagu and the lady but before Nariko could do anything to help she saw another Mooger point at her and a bunch of them began heading towards her. She tried to make an attempt to escape but the Moogers were too fast and surrounded her. As two Moogers grabbed her arms Nariko began to struggle in their grip "Let me go you freaks!" while she struggled Nariko dropped her phone in the process and the Moogers began dragging her away. "Nariko!" exclaimed Kagu who had no choice but to helplessly watch her friend being dragged away by the Moogers._

_The monsters then used the gap and arrived at an abandon shrine, they dragged Nariko inside and soon threw at the feet of Dayu who simply crossed her arms and stared down at the Yamada "Well, well looks like we finally meet face to face dear Nariko…Or should I refer to you as Princess Nariko, heir to the Yamada Clan?" Nariko looked up and glared at the Nighlok "Dayu…" "Of course you would know me, I'm not surprised at all…" "Why have you brought me here?" "Isn't it obvious?" Dayu cupped the princess' chin "Master Xandred has order me to capture and bring you to him since he's planning to make you his bride." she let go of Nariko's chin and turned away "Though I won't bring you to him…Well not just yet after all I need to finish my plan and I need more brides in order to do it." "So you're the one who's been kidnapping brides in the city!" exclaimed Nariko, Dayu walked over to a wedding dress that was being magically sewn from a large wedding cake made up of yarn "Yes and since I have them trapped in my wedding cake cocoon I'm using their tears and sorrow to fill the Sanzu River and also to create my wedding dress." she then turned and face Nariko "And don't you worry I'll be taking good care of you and I know a place where you'll be well kept for the time being…Moogers put her with the brides!" two Moogers grabbed Nariko by the arms again and dragged her towards the cocoon, once close enough they threw her into the cocoon which sucked the princess up and soon she joined the brides who were sitting there crying their sorrow out._

_That night at the household Mentor Ji handed Mia the list of weddings who found that all of them were highlighted except for one "All of these weddings except for one were cancelled?" "Yes Jayden warned them all about the bride kidnappings." replied Ji "With only one left we know exactly which wedding the Nighlok will hit." said Jayden, he then noticed the worried look on the mentor's face "Ji what's wrong?" "Is just that…Have any of you seen Nariko? I thought she was back at the household but I can't find her anywhere…" "You mean she hasn't returned?" "Yes…And I'm getting worried…" then Jayden's samuraizer began to beep to which he quickly answered "Hello? Kagu how did you…Wait calm down and tell me again…" the red ranger abruptly stood up from his seat once hearing what Kagu said "What do you mean Nariko has been kidnapped?…I see…Thank you for telling me now dry your tears and don't worry I'll find Nariko and rescue her…Yes I'll call you later ok? Bye…." Jayden hung up and gripped his samuraizer tightly "Jayden what happened?" asked Emily "Kagu told me that while she was paying for a dress at the store Moogers stormed in and kidnapped Nariko right on the spot…Kagu tried looking for her but it was no use…" "Oh no Nariko…" the others were silent, upset by what they just heard until Kevin thought of something "Wait…You think maybe the Moogers took Nariko to the same place where the kidnapped brides are held at?" realizing what Kevin was implying Jayden nodded "I see where you're going with this Kevin…Mia I think you know what about to say." "Of course…I'll play the blushing bride bait for the Moogers." said the pink ranger, Mike stood up from his seat and took the wedding list from her hands "Yeah something tells me you're excited to wear that wedding dress Nariko wore." "Mike! Every girl wants to wear a wedding gown…Maybe Mia more than others." said Emily, Mike just lightly shudder at the thought of weddings. "Hey I'm a sucker for Cinderella…" muttered Mia, Jayden gave her a look and she quickly said "Ok…Once I get a fix on the location of the brides and Nariko I'll send back the coordinates." "And we'll be ready to come save them." said Jayden, very determined to rescue his fiancé._

_The next day at the targeted bride's wedding, Jayden and Mia switched places with the real bride and groom to fool the Moogers. As the wedding started and the preacher began talking, the Moogers wasted no time in showing up and kidnapping Mia, using the gap as their escape to return to the abandon shrine. Once arriving the Moogers dragged Mia inside and threw her at the feet of Dayu. "Nicely done Moogers, welcome! Now what's the best way to welcome you...Pink samurai ranger!" said Dayu who ripped off Mia's veil, the pink ranger pulled out her samuraizer in order to contact the others but Dayu grabbed her wrist and took her phone away "Well now...What little bobble have you brought me?" she twisted Mia's arm a bit "You thought you tricked me didn't you? Oh you think we haven't been watching you and your pathetic pals? Now I've got you and the real bride as well." two more Moogers came in dragging the bride and throwing her into the cocoon "No but we hid her!" exclaimed Mia "You didn't hid her well enough! I also know that you're trying to rescue your dear princess Nariko but don't worry I've been taking good care of her. Moogers bring the princess to me!" two Moogers did as they were told and went into the cocoon soon bringing out Nariko, making her stand right beside Dayu "See what did I tell you?" the female Nighlok then put Mia's samuraizer against her ear "Now you're going to call your friends just like you planned, tell them you found the brides then tell them to go to warehouse 32 near the docks!" "Forget it! I won't help you send my friends into a trap!" "Oh I think you will because if you don't I'll give those brides and your princess something to cry about." "Don't do it Mia!" exclaimed Nariko only to have a Mooger cover her mouth, Mia worriedly looked at her "Nariko...All right I'll do it..." once Mia contacted Jayden and told him what Dayu ordered her to say, the female Nighlok couldn't help but laugh evilly at how well her plan is going._

_Minutes passed and once hearing from one of the Moogers that Jayden and the others fell for the trap Dayu began to laugh "Ha ha ha, kaboom! You samurai rangers were no match for me! Oh I haven't felt this good in a long time!" she then walked over to her wedding gown which was still being sewn "Look at this gown...All the dashed hopes and dreams it symbolizes oh how good it feels to throw a bridle shower, a bridle shower of tears that'll raise the Sanzu River and flood your pathetic world! This is the end for you pink ranger!" Dayu walked over to Mia and grabbed her arm throwing her down in front of her, letting Moogers surround the ranger "Go on Moogers! Get rid of her!" but before they could do anything, a red robot lion flew in and attacked Dayu and the Moogers. Once retrieving her samuraizer Mia quickly got up and went over to Nariko kicking the two Moogers that were holding her just as Jayden, Kevin and Mike entered the room. "Jayden!" exclaimed Nariko, she ran into her fiancé's open arms and both hugged each other tightly. Jayden sighed in relief once he had Nariko in his arms "I'm so glad you're not harmed..." "I knew you and the others would find me..." angered to see that the rangers were all right Dayu growled "What in the world? How did you escape the warehouse?" Mia faced Dayu, crossing her arms "I think it's your turn to cry I'm not the only samurai ranger that's been kidnapped today." suddenly the cut was cocoon was cut down revealing the kidnapped brides and Emily who pulled off her wedding veil "2 samurai ranger brides are twice as nice don't you think?" "How could this be?' said Dayu in disbelief "Pretty easily actually when Mia traded places with that real bride to protect her we made sure she had double bride protection so when you came back to kidnap the real bride guess who you ended up kidnapping instead?" said Emily "But the warehouse...Who went there?" questioned Dayu "Our doubles." replied Jayden, soon the brides began running out of the shrine in fear of being captured again. The red ranger then looked at Nariko "I want you to leave this place and return to the household, the others and I will handle Dayu from here." "All right, be safe." Jayden let go of Nariko who then ran out of the same way the brides took to escape the shrine._

_Later Dayu had escaped the battle with another Nighlok by the name of Deker who came and save her. Though before Deker took his leave with Dayu he told Jayden they will duel soon. As the two took their leave giant Moogers arrived and had the rangers deal with them by using their megazord. 20 minutes passed and currently the rangers along with Nariko were taking a stroll downtown. While they were walking Mike looked to Emily "You know…You made a really beautiful bride." "Thank! You know…I never felt so pretty!" the yellow ranger then turned around to see walking behind her in sadness "Hey Mia are you all right?" "Yeah…I guess so…" Nariko came up to Mia's side gently rubbing her back "Hey because of you all those brides were saved along with me and those special women will have their special day after all." "What Dayu did was terrible…But I just can't shake the feeling that all of Dayu's anger came from some past sadness…I mean…Why was she so into that wedding dress? Oh well…I just hope one day it'll be my turn to play the bride for real." "Don't worry you will, I'm sure of it." said Emily who hugged Mia's, she then noticed a bakery a few feet away and pointed at it "Oh look a bakery! There's nothing like a cupcake to make you feel better Mia!" Nariko simply watched the two girls walk ahead of her towards the bakery before turning to Jayden noticing the serious thoughtful look on his face "Jayden?" he looked at her once hearing his name "Yes?" "Is something wrong?" "It's just that…Just as we were about to give the finishing blow some Nighlok showed up and protected Dayu." "Really?" "Yeah…And before that Nighlok left he said that he and I will have a duel soon." "Jayden…" soon Emily came back and stood in front of the couple "Come on you two! Come and have a victory goodie with us! Samurai rangers cupcakes are ours!" Nariko grabbed the red ranger's hand holding it in a firm grip "Come on it'll help you get your mind off of things." "Well…I don't see why not as long as it's not wedding cake." the girls laughed and soon the three joined up with Mia, Kevin and Mike at the bakery to dig into some delicious sweet treats._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

At the samurai household Mia, Emily, Mike, Nariko and Mentor Ji were outside at the training yard about to watch Jayden and Kevin do a practice fight in their ranger forms. Once the two began both were equally matched in the fight as it continued on mike said "He's got mad skills I'm impressed!" "Yes…Jayden is one of the best that's ever been." agreed Mentor Ji, Mike looked at him shaking his head a bit "I was talking about Kevin…He's right up there with Jayden!" "He's so graceful with the sword." said Emily watching in complete awe, Ji nodded "Yes Jayden always had that quality even as a child." "I meant Kevin." Mia nodded in agreement with Emily "Kevin's technique is better." "Actually they are both excellent swordsmen, practice sparring is one thing but true skills shown in battle is what really counts." told Nariko "I'd hate to see what would happen if they really battled each other." admitted Mike, Mia laughed a bit at his confession "That would never happen, nothing could make Kevin fight against a fellow ranger." "He's true blue!" declared Emily, they continued to watch the two rangers fight until Jayden finally landed a blow on Kevin which ended the match. The blue ranger panted and turned to his fellow ranger "Good match Jayden! I obviously need more practice." "Hey don't beat yourself over a lost point." "Ok!" Kevin got up and ready his sword "Let go again!" Jayden did the same thing "You're on!" and thus another sparring match began between the two.

Meanwhile in the underworld upon the boat, Master Xandred was not very happy at the outcome of Dayu's ruined plan or the fact that Deker was standing right in front of him. "What are you doing here Deker? You expect a reward for saving Dayu? Is that why you're here?" questioned Xandred causing Dayu to scoff at this "Huh! I didn't need saving!" "This isn't about her…I want to go after red ranger, the new leader of the samurai…But I'm not looking to interfere with any of your plans." said Deker, Xandred walked passed him "Do what you want, my head is pounding! I can only deal with one headache at a time!" Deker turned to the evil monster "Hmm…I see you're still suffering from when the last red ranger sealed you down here." "Everyone of those samurai rangers will pay for my pain! When we make the Sanzu River overflow I'll watch all of them sink to the bottom and I'll finally have the Yamada princess as my bride!" "So you have nothing else planned?" Xandred then sat upon his cot, medicine bottle in one hand "No!" "Oh ah oh! He answered you now go!" ordered Octoroo, with that Deker began making his leave from the boat "All right…Rest well Master Xandred and I shall continue my quest without worry." suddenly a Nighlok by the name of Madimot came upon the boat carrying a whip "I'm the star around here! Bye bye Deker!" "Get lost Madimot! You're nothing but talk!" said a now very annoyed Octoroo "Hold on squid lips! I brought you a present that's bigger and badder than Deker! Don't believe me? Lets take a look!" Deker not affected by this at all casually left the boat having Octoroo call after him "Deker wait!" Madimot simply just waved at the leaving Deker "Bye bye!" he then grabbed Octoroo and guide him over to the window "You'll forget about that rogue when you look outside!" both Dayu and Octoroo went over to the window just as Madimot snapped his whip. "I don't believe it! Is that what I think it is?" wondered Dayu "It sure is! I've got the red ranger's long lost Tiger zord!" proudly declared Madimot, feeling very arrogant about his work.

Back at the household Mia, Kevin, Emily and Mike were in the kitchen, munching on some snacks when Jayden came in "Hey…Have any of you seen Ji or Nariko?" the 4 rangers looked at each other then back at their leader shaking their heads. "Not since we've finished training this morning." replied Kevin "Just where could they be?" wondered Mia, the group then heard battle cries coming from the training and quickly made their way there to investigate. Once arriving they saw Ji standing off to the side watching as Nariko was practicing with a wooden sword. The others except for Jayden were amazed at how very graceful and precise Nariko's sword techniques are "Wow…This is the first time I've ever seen Nariko train…" said Kevin, Mike nodded in agreement "Yeah…I heard from Mentor Ji that Nariko was skilled with the sword…But I never thought she was this skilled." "You gotta remember Mike, Nariko comes from a clan that has every member train to become a samurai." said Mia "And she belongs to one of the best samurai clan to this day." added Jayden "So basically it's in her blood to be so skillful with the sword right Jayden?" asked Emily, the red ranger simply nodded and continued to watch his fiancé intensely train. Nariko then did a back flip and smacked the training dummy before her, making it fall down due the force of the hit. Ji began to clap and walked over to the princess, handing her a towel "Very well done Nariko, haven't lost your touch at all." "Thank you Ji." as she wiped her forehead, the rangers took this opportunity to go over to Nariko. "Wow Nariko that was amazing!" exclaimed Emily, the princess looked at them a bit surprised, not knowing that they were there watching her "Oh! Umm…Thanks…I didn't know I was being watched by you guys…" "Hey don't worry we were amazed by what you did just now." said Mike, his compliment brought a smile to Nariko's face while Jayden went over to his fiancé and wrapped a arm around her waist giving Nariko a side hug "Still the same as ever Nariko I'm glad you haven't lost your touch at all." "Thanks Jayden…" suddenly the Gap sensor went off causing everyone to look at the blinking symbol upon the wall. Nariko looked up at Jayden "You guys better go…" "Don't worry we'll be back as soon as possible." she simply nodded and Jayden gave her a quick peck on the lips before leaving the household with his team following closely behind.

Later the rangers returned to the household a bit injured from the fight with Madimot and unfortunately Kevin wasn't with them. Turns out Madimot put the blue ranger under a spell which gives the Nighlok total control over Kevin, just like he has control over the Tiger zord. Nariko was waiting in the living room as Ji entered with the rangers after Jayden had explained to him what had happened. "This isn't good it's going to be very hard to break that spell over the Tiger zord and Kevin." declared Ji, both he and Jayden stopped in the hall way to watch Mia, Emily and Mike head into the small dojo room. The red ranger then look back at his mentor "We need a plan." he entered the living room followed by Ji and once seeing her fiancé Nariko immediately stood up and went over to him "Jayden! Are you ok?" he cringed a bit as the princess touched the side of his stomach "Yeah…Just a bit beat up that's all…" "I heard you and Ji talking about Kevin and the Tiger zord…Is it true?" "Unfortunately…" "Jayden you must be prepared to make tough choices if need be." reminded Ji, Jayden nodded "I know Ji…" he then noticed Mike, Emily and Mia looking at them and turned to the samurai mentor "But lets figure out a way to break the Nighlok's hold on Kevin before it gets to that."

Minutes passed and the Gap sensor went off again, Mia, Emily and Mike quickly ran into the living room to find Ji and Nariko looking at the map of the city upon the table. "Mentor, Nariko where's Jayden?" asked Mike "He's already gone to battle the Nighlok." answered Ji "Are you kidding me? What about Kevin?" Ji looked away from the green ranger who went over to the samurai mentor "The Nighlok will make him fight Jayden!" "Hopefully that won't happen but it is our duty to protect people…He may have no choice…" "There's always a choice this is bogus!" "Have faith in your leader Mike." said Nariko, the green ranger couldn't help but angrily sigh only to have Mia gently grab his arm "Mike we have to help Jayden." "And hope Kevin comes to his senses." added Emily, Mike sighed once more and soon followed the two girl rangers out of the household and to the area where Jayden headed off to.

An hour passed and Nariko was nervously pacing around the living room, waiting for the rangers return. Her head immediately snapped up at the sound of the door opening and rushed into the hall way to find the team just entering the household. "Jayden!" exclaimed Nariko, she ran to her fiancé and threw her arms around him hugging the red ranger tightly who embraced her back. Once they broke away, the princess turned to Kevin and hugged him also "Kevin! I'm so relieved you're all right!" a bit surprised by the sudden affection Kevin smiled and hugged Nariko back "Thanks for caring Nariko…" the two broke the hug, letting Emily go over to the princess "Hey Nariko do you want to play a board game with Mia, Mike and me?" "Sure why not?" "Let's play it in the living room! Come on!" the two girls laughed and headed back into the living with Mia and Mike following, leaving Jayden and Kevin alone. Once they began having fun with the board game Kevin and Jayden took this moment to have a talk with each other. "After today I don't feel much like playing with the others…" sighed Kevin, feeling much regret about today's event, Jayden patted his friend on the back "It wasn't your fault that Nighlok was the one playing games and using us as the pieces." the red ranger then looked at the white disk in his hand "Tiger is one of our toughest ally and even he couldn't resist that spell." "But I raised my sword against you!" protested Kevin "And I raised mine against you…Sometimes we can't avoid putting each other at risk." "But we have to do what's best for the greater good…" Jaydne lightly nudged the blue ranger "Hey you sound like Mentor there." Mia then turned to the two guys "Hey! We're starting a new game! Come on!" the two got up and went over to the 4 gathering around the table. Kevin pulled out his folding zord "All right but I'm blue." "Yeah I think we all agree that you're the best one to control that." said Mike, Kevin held out his hand "Just hand me the dice." the green ranger chuckled and handed his buddy the dice thus beginning the game. Jayden took his seat next to Nariko, gently kissing her head. His affection made her smile and snuggle against his side to watch him and the other rangers play the board game together in peace.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Today at the household everyone was in the living room having an important meeting. There upon the table laid the Swordfish, Tiger and Beetle disks, Mentor Ji went over to the bookcase and pulled out a journal, walking back to the rangers and Nariko who surrounded the table. "Now that we've recovered 3 of the lost disks we have a new power at our disposal." said Ji "Beetle…Swordfish…Tiger…Together these 3 disks allow us to form the Samurai Battle wing." told Jayden, Ji opened the journal and showed the group what the battle wing looked like. "Wow that looks like one powerful bird." declared Mike, Nariko nodded "Yes…Thanks to these disks…Which is why one has to go to the person we believe who's truly ready to help pilot the battle wing?" "I'll keep the Tiger zord." said Jayden, Nariko picked up the Swordfish disk and handed it to the blue ranger "The Swordfish…Goes to Kevin, who caught it and therefore has a connection with it." Kevin smiled and took the disk, as Nariko picked up the Beetle disk Mentor Ji said "We've decided that the Beetle…" "Should go to Mia." finished Jayden, the pink ranger was surprised as Nariko handed her the disk "Me?" "We trust your control and your symbol power the most and we know you'll do the difficult work that's needed to master this disk." explained Ji "We're counting on you." told Jayden, Mia then took the disk from Nariko's hands "Thank you…I won't let you down." the princess soon noticed the look on Mike's face and how tightly he was clenching his hands. She lightly placed her hand over his "Mike?" the green ranger looked at her and Nariko said softly "Are you all right?" "Yeah…I'm fine Nariko…" not believing him one bit, she pulled her hand away and leave him be for now.

3 hours later everyone was now in the kitchen having their lunch except for Mike who was intensely training outside. Kevin grabbed some sushi that Nariko had prepared from the serving dish and onto his plate "Wow…What's come over Mike? I'm not used to seeing him train so hard…" Emily poured herself a glass of water before joining Kevin and Mia at the table "He's actually been training really hard on his symbol power lately I think he wanted that disk bad…" "I know…I felt kind of bad taking it instead of him…" admitted Mia "Don't feel bad, you're hard work is one of the reasons we've chosen you I've told Mike he needs to just as work as hard." said Ji "But he's been trying!" defended Emily, the samurai mentor nodded "Yes…And I believe he has it in him but until he learns to listen he isn't ready." Nariko who happened to be washing some dishes at the time couldn't help by not like what she had just heard, the princess closed her eyes and lightly sighed soon continuing on with her washing.

30 minutes passed and Jayden was searching the household for his fiancé only to find her in her room. He leaned against the doorway and simply watched Nariko lay upon her bed on her back, playing with her soft long hair. She soon sighed causing Jayden to ask "Something bothering you?" Nariko quickly looked to the door and was a bit surprised to see Jayden standing there "How long have you been there?" "About a minute or two…Are you going to tell me what's causing you to sigh so much today?" "I wasn't sighing a lot." Jayden then walked over and laid on the bed joining Nariko "Like I'm gonna believe that…Come on Nariko tell me…" she sighed once more and turned to the red ranger, laying her head upon his chest "It's just that…About Mike…" "I kind of figure this was about him…" "Jayden don't you think that Ji is a bit hard on him?" "What makes you think that?" "My gut." "Your gut?" "You know I always go with what my gut is telling me." "Yes…Including your heart…But don't be too concern about this at least not right now and if it makes you feel better I'll have a talk to Ji about this how does that sound?" "Fine…I'll leave it to you…" Jayden wrapped his arm around Nariko and held her close to him soon laying his head upon hers. The couple stayed like that, enjoying the moment they had together when the Gap sensor went off. "I don't believe it…Just when I was starting to get comfortable." grumbled Nariko, Jayden chuckled and kissed her forehead "I agree but I'll be back." "Take care." the red ranger gave his fiancé a sweet kiss before quickly taking his leave from her room to deal with problem.

Not long after the rangers had returned once the Nighlok: Desperaino escaped from their fight. Turns out Mike tried to use the Beetle disk when Mia was about to which happened to be the cause of letting the Nighlok escape. Currently in the household everyone was gathered in the living room and Mentor Ji was lecturing Mike, clearly upset at what happened "Mike I'm so disappointed in you! Putting yourself before the needs of the team places all of you in serious danger! Here I thought you were…Finally listening to me and training hard to strengthen the team! I can't believe it's come to this but you've become a risk to the others…I'll have to ask you to turn over your samuraizer." the green ranger looked at the samurai mentor in shock "What? You're benching me?" "It pains me to say it…But I don't think you're truly ready to be a samurai." Mike stood up from his seat "I'm tired of your lectures, you know nothing about me…And if I'm not ready…How can I do this?" he pulled out his samuraizer and wrote a symbol in mid air, it glowed and suddenly the plant behind Natsumi came to life making her turn toward it. The plant stretched its leaf and wrapped itself around Ji's stick, the samurai mentor tried to get it free but it was no use. He looked at Mike and sternly said "Stop this." Mia stood up from her seat and went over to the green ranger "Mike! Stop!" Jayden stood at his side and firmly said "Ok that's enough." Ji once again tried to get his stick free but once giving a hard pull, he made the plant fell from its stand and made it come crashing down. Nariko immediately took a step back just as the plant fell, making Jayden come to her side in an instant "Nariko are you all right?" "Yes…" Mike put his samuraizer down on the seat "None of you understand, I'm out of here!" the green ranger then stormed out of the place with everyone watching him. Emily soon turned to Ji "Mentor are you ok?" "I'm fine…"

20 minutes have passed and only Jayden, Nariko and Ji were in the living room while Mia, Kevin and Emily were somewhere else in the house. Nariko sat by her fiancé and simply watch him play a bit with his lion folding zord. Once his folding zord jumped into his hand Jayden looked at Ji "You've been pushing Mike pretty hard lately." the samurai mentor fixed the fallen stand "It's my responsibility to train him to be a worthy samurai." "Yes…But pushing doors that are meant to be pulled will never open…You taught Nariko and me that…" "Yes…I just wish he listened like the two of you." Nariko stood up from her seat "That's because he's not us…You taught Jayden and me that everyone is different just like their symbol powers, right now you and Mike both want the same thing…" "And that's for him to be the best he can be…But you just don't agree on the path to get him there." said Jayden "Perhaps you're right Nariko, Jayden…A strong wind can kindle a fire but it can also uproot a tree…You are very wise red ranger, princess." Jayden smiled and grabbed Nariko's hand taking her away "Hey you taught us well."

2 hours passed and currently Nariko was standing in a beautiful forest after Mentor Ji had asked her to meet him there. She was standing under a huge tree taking in its size when she heard from a voice approaching behind "Where are we going? Wait you didn't just bring me out here to yell at me?" the princess turned around to see Ji approaching her with Mike following "Well now I was wondering why you ask me to come out here." "Nariko? What are you doing here?" asked the green ranger "Ji asked me to meet him here and I think I know why he did." "And to answer your question…No Mike I wanted to talk to you about your inherited symbol power." said Ji, the two stopped in front of Nariko and Mike nodded "Oh yeah my symbol is the forest I get it." the samurai mentor sighed and turned to him "You must think deeper Mike, your powers spring from the essence of the forest, its deepest meaning. If you understand that meaning and you find it within yourself too then you can give your symbol even greater power than it already has." "Mike look inside yourself and connect with what the forest means to you." instructed Nariko who placed her hand upon the bark of the tree, Mike look up at the huge giant and gazed at it for awhile in silence. Then Mentor Ji pulled at Mike's samuraizer and handed it to him "Here." the green ranger looked at his samuraizer then at Ji "Seriously?" he took back his samuraizer "Thanks Mentor." "It was my mistake not to teach you this from the start and even though I said you weren't listening I clearly wasn't listening to you either and I'm sorry." "No it was my bad dude." Ji gave him a confused look, causing Mike to correct himself "I mean I'm sorry too." the samurai mentor held out his hand for Mike to shake, instead the green ranger put out his fist to which Ji shook. Mike smiled and shook his head "No…Here like a fist." Ji put his hand into a fist and bumped fists with Mike, the action brought a smile to Nariko's face. Then the green ranger's samuraizer beeped and he quickly answered to find it was Jayden calling for his aid since Desperaino showed up again. Mike looked to Ji and Nariko who nodded, giving him the signal to go. Once he left the area, Nariko turned to the samurai mentor "Well…You didn't need much of my help Ji." "I was a bit uncertain that if I didn't had you come here then Mike would have never actually listen to me." "But he did Ji." "Yes and that makes me glad…Come lets head back to the household and wait for the rangers return."

Later back at the household, the rangers had safely returned once defeating Desperaino with the Samurai Battle Wing and now Mike possesses the Beetle Disk. Jayden, Nariko and Emily led Mentor Ji into the living room to find Mike waiting there with Mia and Kevin. "What's this?" wondered Ji "A little something to say thanks to let you know I'll be listening." said Mike, from behind his back he pulled out a small plant holding it out to Ji who took it "As will I…Oh uh…Dude!" "Oh and check this out!" Mike pulled out his samuraizer and wrote a symbol, then the plant's leafs began to move. Thinking it was going to be the same incident with the other plant Mia said "Mike what are you doing?" "Not again!" groaned Kevin, Mike looked at the two a bit confused "What? Oh! No I was doing this!" everyone watched as the leafs soon began to turn it to a mini hand then a fist to which Ji bumped fists with it. The sight made everyone smile and laugh, they soon followed after Ji who was going to place Mike's gift in a good place to be looked at for everyone to enjoy.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Today happened to begin off in the Netherworld where just now Octoroo had told Master Xandred something and the evil master didn't like what he heard one bit. "What are you saying? I'm weak?" growled Xandred, he drew out his sword and pointed at Octoroo who was immediately backing up "Oh no! Oh ah oh…I was just bothered by what Deker said…That you weren't going after the red ranger!" he then picked up a journal that was laying upon the floor "So I looked in the archives…The power that sealed you here has always rested in the hands of the samurai Shiba family, headed by the red ranger!" Dayu who was just simply sitting down, listening to the conversation, slowly stood up "The red ranger did this? How did Deker know that and you didn't?" Xandred began pacing around a bit "Is he trying to play me for a fool? Like those darn rangers?" he then kicked some buckets that were in his way before storming over to the window barking out "Moogers, attack! Destroy them all!"

At the household everyone was doing their own thing, simply relaxing taking this opportunity of peace that they have. Nariko was outside sitting upon the grass near the pond garden, Jayden happened to be with her laying down on the grass and resting his head in his fiancé's lap. He was taking a nap while Nariko was gently stroking his cheek, watching her red ranger sleep. She stopped and smiled at the sight of Jayden's face as he continued to nap. "Why did you stop?" Jayden asked casually, though he did not open his eyes. "Well I couldn't help but admire how handsome you look while you're sleeping." admitted Nariko, this made the red ranger open his eyes and look up at her smirking a bit "Oh really?" "Yes, really." "Good to know." then Jayden quickly got up and began tickling Nariko's side, immediately she started laughing and fell upon her back. The red ranger took this opportunity to climb on top of his fiancé and continue to tickle her. "J-Jayden! Stop it! Ha, ha, ha! Y-You know that I'm t-ticklish!" giggled Nariko, Jayden ceased his tickling and swoop down, capturing her lips in a mind blowing kiss. Slowly it began to turn into a passionate one but to their dismay the Gap sensor went off, making the couple break their kiss. "Unbelievable." muttered Nariko, Jayden chuckled a bit "Duty calls." he gave her one more kiss before getting up leaving the household, Nariko who was left in a daze from the kiss, couldn't help but smile as she watched her fiancé leave the household with his team.

Soon the rangers had returned after defeating so many Moogers in the city, but not after something strange had occurred during their fight. Apparently many of the Moogers were put into a trance by Master Xandred to go after Jayden only. To which Kevin, Mia, Mike and Emily quickly went to their leader's side in order to protect him, though they didn't have to since Jayden easily defeated all of the Moogers with a new technique he came up with. Inside the household everyone had gathered in the living room and the rangers informed Ji and Nariko on what had happened. "Why were the Moogers only after Jayden?" questioned Kevin, Ji turned to the red ranger "Jayden…Master Xandred must know…" "Know what? Are you guys keeping secrets from us?" asked Mike, Nariko looked to her fiancé before turning her attention to the others "There is a secret symbol that can create a seal…The previous red ranger used it to imprison Master Xandred…" "When Master Xandred last attacked us…It was a surprise…And we were nearly defeated…" said Ji, Nariko sighed a bit "That symbol…Was how Jayden's father was able to seal Xandred away last time…" "So…It's all up to Jayden now?" asked Mike "Yes…Only members of the red ranger Shiba family can use the seal…" the green ranger looked towards Jayden "Guess you really are the man…" "Jayden's father did everything he could to save us." Emily pointed out, not wanting to hear anymore of this Jayden abruptly stood up and quickly took his leave. Kevin turned around in his seat calling after him "Wait Jayden!" "What's the big deal? Jayden just has to use his special Shiba family symbol power to seal Master X." "It's not so simple…It takes a lot of unbelievable symbol power to make the seal permanent." told Ji, Nariko simply clench her kimono tightly in her hands not wanting to talk about this certain subject one bit.

In the Netherworld Master Xandred was laying upon the floor of the boat, exhausted from using his powers so much. While he rested Octoroo was trying to get rid of the yellow furry balls called Furry Warts that had come from the ceiling, but at the same time was talking to Dayu "Of course! The last red ranger didn't do it right, our Master was able to revive because the red ranger didn't have enough strength to create a permanent seal!" "What about the current red ranger?" "Oh ah oh! No…He's not strong enough either." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, would we be standing here if he could?" "So let's take him out!" Octoroo went over to the boat's window "Oh! I know the perfect guy! Even other Nighlok are afraid of him! Robtish are you there?" soon the Nighlok stormed onto the boat, growling "Rargh! Right here shark bait!" "Oh ah oh! We need you to deal with a pesky kid in a red helmet would you like to take him on?" asked Octoroo, Robtish pulled out his sword "Liked to? I loved to!" the Nighlok then grabbed a Furry Wart and crushed it in his hand, eager to fight.

Back at the household the rangers except for Jayden were in the training yard, preparing for practice. Nariko just sat on the bench and watched as the 4 rangers began to warm up, but couldn't get her mind off of the conversation the group had minutes ago. Mike then headed over to where Nariko sat "This is awesome! Jayden just has to master the seal symbol and Master Xandred will be old news." "But the last red ranger couldn't master the seal." reminded Mia "And the ranger before him couldn't master it as well…No ranger has…" said Kevin "He'll master it! He has to! It's his destiny!" said Emily, the blue ranger nodded in agreement "That's right! Until then we have to protect Jayden that's our number one mission, got it?" both Mia and Mike nodded, Nariko had to lightly bite her bottom in order to control her worry that happened to be building for her fiancé. "If we work as a team, we can protect Jayden from anything!" Kevin pointed out "Now I see it! That's why we've been training our whole lives!" said Emily, suddenly Jayden appeared in the doorway, feeling bothered at what he just heard "No, that's not necessary! You protect yourselves! As business as usual, stay focused on the battle at hand as a team ok?" Nariko looked to her fiancé a bit surprised to hear how upset he sounded just now "Jayden…" not even hearing his name being said, the red ranger grabbed a practice sword and made his way over to the practice dummy. "We must protect you at all cost!" insisted Kevin, this upset Jayden more and he hit the practice dummy with his sword hard "No! That's just too much of a burden to bear!" then the Gap sensor went off, causing Jayden run into the house without sparing a glance to Nariko who had been silent through out the whole thing. Kevin and the others quickly followed after their leader, leaving the princess by herself outside. She sighed and rubbed her forehead, hoping the action would ease her worry somewhat.

Soon the rangers had returned to the household unfortunately though Kevin and Emily were badly injured since they tried to protect Jayden from Robtish. Mia and Mike were also injured by Deker but not that badly. Currently Nariko was tucking both Emily and Kevin into bed after bandaging up some of their injuries. Once she made sure that they were fine, the princess walked over to Mia and Mike who had been sitting down while Nariko took care of their friends "Do both of you want anything to drink?" "No Nariko…We're fine…" said Mia, Mike gave her no reply as he continued to watched Kevin and Emily who had now fallen asleep. Then Mentor Ji entered the room "Rangers, Nariko…Have any of you seen Jayden?" "Is he in the dojo?" asked Nariko "No…" not liking this at all Nariko began searching the household calling for her fiancé "Jayden! Where are you?…Jayden! Answer me!" she stopped in the middle of the hall way, very distressed at not finding her red ranger. Little did everyone knew Jayden had already snuck out of the household and was know standing at the front gate preparing to leave. Before he did the red ranger looked back with a frown upon his face thinking "I'll never put my team in harms way again, especially Nariko…I'll do everything in order to protect her…This is my fight…I must do this my own way…" he finally took his leave, ignoring the calls of his dear fiancé who was still searching for him.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Not long after Jayden had left his family's household Nariko had gone back to Ji and informed him that the red ranger was nowhere to be found in the house. Soon the samurai mentor stepped outside to think about what has happened "Has the weight of leading the Samurai Rangers become too heavy for Jayden to bear?" Inside the household Nariko retreated back to her room and sat upon her bed. She then opened her window and stared up at the gleaming full moon in the night sky. "Jayden…Just where have you gone off to?" whispered Nariko, she clutched her necklace tightly "I pray that you are safe and that you will return to us soon my darling red ranger…"

At the city Jayden was roaming around the streets, thinking about what had happened today with his team "What happened to the other rangers…Is exactly what I wanted to avoid…They're willing to give up everything to protect me and my power to seal Master Xandred away…If only they knew…I can't ever let the team put themselves at risk again…And there's definitely no way I'm having Nariko do that for me either…If she ever got hurt because of me…There's no way I'll ever forgive myself for letting that happen…." the red ranger soon looked up at the full moon and gazed at it for a moment before making his way across the slightly busy city streets.

Back at the household Mentor Ji was still outside in the yard, deeply thinking "I must give Jayden room to find the strength he needs to lead this team…" he then got up and made his way back into the household. Once he checked up on the other rangers, Ji made his way to Nariko's room only to find the princess still awake as he entered. "Nariko you're still up at this hour?" asked Ji, the Yamada heir looked at the samurai mentor "That's because I can't sleep…" "You're worried for Jayden aren't you?" "Yes…" Ji walked over and gently placed his hand on Nariko's shoulder, squeezing it a bit "Do not worry I'm sure Jayden will be just fine and he'll return home soon…Now get some sleep, you need the rest for tomorrow." "Ok…" the princess slowly laid down upon her bed and had Ji cover her body with a blanket. She nuzzled her head into the pillow and slowly closed her eyes, quickly falling fast asleep. Once seeing this Ji turned off her bedside lamp and quietly made his way out of her room. Before departing he looked back at the sleeping princess and smiled a bit, then proceeded to quietly closing the door and his way to his own room to rest.

The next morning Nariko had given Kevin and Emily their breakfast to eat, she opened the sliding doors to the room that easily lead to outside and sat upon the bench along with Mia who ate her bowl of cereal. Mike soon entered the room also eating a bowl of cereal "You know…A young samurai once told me that breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Kevin who happened to be drawing in bed, groaned as he sat up and looked towards Mike "I told you that…" "Uh huh." "I'll eat once I finish this…" the blue ranger showed the others what he was drawing in his sketch book "While I've been laid up I've been thinking about the possibility of combining the Samurai Battle Wing and the Megazord." "Last time I had a sick day I played video games, drank ginger ale and had chicken soup." said Mike who then turned to Nariko, easily seeing the worried look on her face "Hey Nariko…What's up with you?" "It's Jayden…He's still not back…" soon Mentor Ji entered the room putting up a happy act "Hello everyone! Hi Emily hope you're feeling better…Have you finished breakfast?" "You can cut the happy, happy act we know something is up." said Mike, Mia stood up from the bench "We know Jayden is gone." Ji sighed and reassured the group "Don't worry he'll be back the rest of us just have to focus on our mission."

Minutes passed and Ji had already left the room, currently Kevin and Emily were sitting up on their beds checking to make sure their body is functioning well by moving their arms and legs a bit. "Well it's good to see you guys are at least feeling better." said Nariko as she watched them, Mike who was also watching them stepped outside and sat on the bench with Mia sighing "I remember how messed up I felt when a Nighlok attacked my buddies just because they were hanging with me." "Just think about what Jayden is feeling…Just knowing that we're willing to take hits for him." said Mia "Yeah…Must be so hard to know that you're the only ranger with the sealing power." "I know…Imagine you held the whole world's fate in your hands…" Nariko couldn't help but sigh and take her leave having the others stare after her. "Nariko where are you going?" asked Emily, the princess continued her way while answering "Out…" the Yamada heir soon found Ji in the living room just sitting there so she approached him "Ji…" "Oh Nariko…What is it?" "You think I could go and visit Kagu for a bit?" "What for?" "Just to talk." "Well…All right but don't be gone for too long." "I won't…I'll be back." Nariko then left for her room to change and Ji couldn't help but sigh "Oh Nariko…"

Later at Kagu's house the two girls were sitting upon a bench on the front porch simply talking and Nariko had just told her dear friend what had happened yesterday. "And Jayden has yet to return to the Shiba Household?" questioned Kagu, the Yamada heir slowly nodded "Yes…I'm getting really worried about him Kagu…" "Oh Nariko you don't need to fret so much! I'm pretty sure Jayden is all right! He probably just needs some time to think that's all." "I suppose you're right…" Kagu lightly nudged her friend in the side "Hey how about this…Let's go take a walk in the city…Maybe that'll help get your mind off of things for now." "What about Kenji?" "Oh don't mind him, he's a bit busy right now with paperwork besides it's just a walk we'll be back here before he even notices I'm gone!" "Oh Kagu…" "Enough with the dilly dally! Come on!" Kagu grabbed Nariko's hand and pulled her off the bench, then began dragging her away towards the city to have their walk.

Downtown in the city the girls were enjoying their walk together and eating their ice cream they had got on their way. "Having fun now Nariko?" asked Kagu, Nariko chuckled a bit "Definitely." "See? Aren't you glad to have a friend like me that can always cheer you up?" "Yes and I'm grateful to have you." "So…What do you say about going to the mall?" "Kagu…Shouldn't we be heading back to house?" "What for?" "Don't you think Kenji is starting to worry about you?" "Oh Nariko you're so uptight! You need to learn to have some fun! Like back in the old days when we were children and the two of us were always getting into some sort of mischief and had Jayden be apart of it! I miss those days…" "So do I Kagu…So do I…" then the two heard a cell phone ringing, this cause Kagu to stop and pull out her phone answering it "Hello? Oh Kenji!…I'm with Nariko taking a walk in the city!…Well you were busy with your paperwork so I didn't want to disturb you!…Aw! It's so sweet how you show how much you care for me!…All right I'm coming home now…See you soon Ken-chan!…Because I like calling you that…Ok bye, I love you…" once Kagu hung up Nariko giggled a bit "Let me guess Kenji?" "Yes…Sadly he wants me to return…" "I told you he would be worried for you." "Which is why I'm lucky to have him as my fiancé…Are you going to be all right by yourself Nariko?" "Yes I'll be fine." "Ok…If you ever need another talk, you know where to find me!" "Bye Kagu!" "Bye Nariko!" the Yamada heir smiled a bit as she watched her best friend leave her side before continuing her way.

While she was walking Nariko was passing by a playground where Jayden just happened to be. The red ranger watched as the little kids were running around and throwing the paper airplanes he made for them. "This is how it should be…No monsters, no worries just kids having fun." thought Jayden, he then was a bit surprised as the red ranger spotted his fiancé passing by "Nariko…" he soon heard screaming from behind and turned to find people running away from some Moogers. Jayden quickly approached a woman who happened to be watching over the little children "Gather up the kids and get them somewhere safe!" the woman nodded and did what she was told but before Jayden could help the other people, he spotted Nariko defending herself against the Moogers that had surrounded her "No Nariko!" he ran towards his loved one and became angered once seeing a Mooger grab her arm and twisted it behind her back, making the princess scream out in pain. The red ranger kicked the Mooger away hard and turned to the princess "Nariko are you all right?" "Jayden…" the couple then heard an evil chuckle from a few feet away "Aw…Is that for me?" they looked to find the Nighlok named Robtish with a little boy that was keeping an red airplane which Jayden happen to made away from the evil creature. Jayden sent his lion folding zord to attack Robtish while Nariko ran and picked up the little boy in her arms "I got you!" she then ran over to where the two chaperones had gathered the other children and placed the boy with them. Nariko then did a fan kick as a Mooger tried to attack her from behind, Jayden joined her side and said to the group "Run, run!" as the group made their escape, Robtish approached the couple "We meet again! And look here you have your dear princess with you! Too bad Deker isn't here to save you this time!" Jayden protectively placed Nariko behind him "I'm happy to destroy you all by myself Nighlok!" the Yamada heir looked at him in shock "Jayden you can't be serious!" "Ha! That's nice I myself don't mind having someone else to do my dirty work, that's your cue Moogers now get rid of the red ranger and bring me his princess for me to take to Master Xandred!"

Jayden quickly summoned his spin sword and began defending himself against the Moogers that came at him. "Nariko you stay there I'll handle this!" ordered the red ranger "You're crazy! I can't let you fight these Moogers all by yourself!" exclaimed the princess who then dodged an attack by a Mooger, the evil creatures proved to be too much for Jayden to handle and soon he was thrown upon his back. Nariko back flipped away from the Moogers that almost surrounded her and landed right next to Jayden, she kneeled by her fiancé "Jayden are you all right?" "Y-Yeah…" Robtish slowly began approaching the two with his sword in hand "Such unfair odds…I almost feel guilty…Not!" but before the Nighlok could attack all of them heard a voice call out "Jayden, Nariko!" the couple looked and were relieved to see Kevin, Mia, Emily and Mike coming to help out. While the 4 rangers were fighting off the Moogers, Mike paused in his attack looked over at the two "Is this a private game, or can anyone play?" he thus continued on while Mia looked over at the couple "We're in this together forever!" Emily who didn't take her eyes off the Moogers she was fighting nodded "Yeah Jayden your mission is our mission!" "She's right! We won't let you do this alone!" agreed Kevin, Jayden smiled at this and slowly sat up groaning a bit in pain. Nariko helped her fiancé stand up on his feet "Are you going to be fine Jayden?" "Yeah I appreciate the help Nariko…" the red ranger then looked to his team who continued fighting on "Thanks guys…I'm really glad you showed up…" Jayden turned back to his fiancé "I don't like putting you or the team in danger but someone has to stop the Nighloks…And I'm glad it's my team and you being there to help us in anyway you can…Though for now I want you to return to the household while the others and I deal with this situation." "Jayden…" "Nariko please just do as I say." "All right…" the princess then kissed Jayden's cheek and said in his ear "Just come back to me safe and sound Jayden." "I promise…" Nariko soon left his side and dashed far away from the ongoing fight between the rangers and Master Xandred's followers.

Later the rangers defeated Robtish thanks to Kevin's idea of combining the Samurai Battle Wing with their megazord. At the household both Mentor Ji and Nariko were waiting outside at the front of the house. Ji was impatiently pacing back and forth while Nariko sat upon the steps anxiously waiting for the rangers return. The two immediately snapped their heads up to the sound of the front gate opening and were happy to find the rangers jogging in. "Jayden!" exclaimed Ji, Nariko got up and followed the samurai mentor who met up with the rangers. Jayden held out this hand which Ji took "Ji…I'm sorry that I left…" "It doesn't matter…As long as you're back." "I'm back where I need to be…I'm back with my team…And I'm back with my dear Nariko." the red ranger let go of Ji's hand and turned to his fiancé holding his arms out open for her, to which she ran into wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Jayden still held Nariko in his arms once they stopped hugging and Ji said "Good work I think you all deserve some fun, anything you want." "Lets try something new!" said Kevin "Lets go to the movies!" offered Mike, Emily nodded in agreement "Yeah that sounds fun!" "How about a romantic comedy?" suggested Mia only to have Mike lightly scoff at "Fat chance unless it has zombies in it!" while the 4 rangers entered the household to prepare themselves for the movies Jayden, Nariko and Ji stayed outside for a bit. "Jayden…You and Nariko go enjoy yourselves tonight, the fight will continue tomorrow." said Ji "I know there's a lot of work left to do." "Yes there is…Don't worry we'll tell them when the time is right." "Good thing I have this team to help me see this through along with you Nariko." the Yamada heir lightly caressed Jayden's cheek "Just don't leave the household without telling anyone anything again I really don't want a repeat." "I promise." the red ranger then lean down and captured Nariko's lips in a short sweet kiss, one that she happily returned. Once they pulled away Jayden, Nariko and Ji made their way inside the household and the couple began to prepare to spend the rest of their day at the movies with their friends.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Today happened to be a different kind of day that began on the shore a few miles away from the city. A young man that appeared to be a fisherman was walking on the sand with a fishing pole upon his shoulder dragging a small cooler behind him, containing more fishing poles on the side. He soon stopped a few feet from the water once he had the city in his sight "Finally! I have arrived! Wait till they get a load of me, this will be golden baby!" the fisherman then looked down to see a little robot octopus that had popped out from the cooler "Not yet buddy." the little octopus then went back in the cooler as the guy closed the lid and continued his way toward the city. At the household the Gap sensor went off having the rangers dash out of the building responding to the alarm of a Nighlok appearing in the city. Though once they reached the location which happened to be a pier, the rangers looked around finding no signs of the evil creature. "So where's the Nighlok?" asked Mike, Jayden soon felt a gust of wind blow pass him and looked around for the source of it. Emily took notice of this and asked "Jayden…What's wrong?" "I thought I felt something…Like someone watching me…But it's gone now." Kevin then picked up a hidden Gap sensor that laid in a drain "Something definitely triggered this Gap sensor." "Yeah but what?" wondered Mia, Jayden began walking away "Come on guys let's go." as the other rangers followed their leader, the fisherman had just arrived at the pier taking a good look at it then at the city "Ah…Now I can move on to more important business."

Back at the household Nariko was in the dojo putting up a practice sword when she heard footsteps in the hall. The Yamada heir turned around to find the rangers were back and seeing her fiancé approaching her "Jayden you're back." "Yeah…" he pulled her into his arms and gave her a short kiss. They then pulled away as Ji arrived "That was fast rangers." "It doesn't take long to deal with nothing." replied Mike "The Gap sensor was working fine…But no Nighlok, we didn't see anything out of the ordinary." told Kevin, Nariko looked at Jayden "So it was a false alarm?" "Maybe…I'm not sure yet…" "Jayden…What's with the kiss? I've never seen you act this so affectionate before." "Maybe because I felt like showing how much I care about you right now." "Jayden you-" he cut her off with another kiss which didn't last long, Jayden was the first to break the kiss as they all heard something hit outside. The red ranger left his fiancé to investigate the front, once he opened the door Jayden found an arrow embedded into the wooden wall which happened to have a message attached to it. He pulled the arrow from the wall and brought it back inside to show everyone else "It just says see you soon." Mia seemed to be baffled by this "See you soon…What a Nighlok attack?" Ji shook his head "No…Not here at least…The house is protected by defensive symbols." "And they're doing a good job." said Mike who then took the arrow from Jayden "I mean someone shot this arrow." he soon sniffed the arrow "Something fishy about this…" "Obviously." agreed Emily "No there's really something fishy, smell!" the green ranger held the arrow towards Emily who smelled it only to make a disgusted face "Ugh!"

Later that night everyone was simply relaxing and were doing their own thing. Inside Jayden's room he happened to be sitting at his desk writing some kanji upon a piece of paper. Having the feeling of being watched the red ranger quickly got up from his sitting and turned around bringing out his samuraizer only to find nothing there. Feeling a bit annoyed he began looking around "Where are you?" the door to his room was then opened by Nariko who asked "Jayden what's wrong?" "There's something here!" soon the other rangers showed up at the door just as Jayden felt something go pass him "There! Did you feel that?" not sure what Jayden felt Kevin shook his head "No…What do you feel?" the red ranger quickly shushed him and pointed towards a sliding door, slowly he crept towards it just as the others gathered in the room. They watched as Jayden stood in front of the door and quickly opened it only for the group to scream a bit before realizing that it was a practice dummy that had fallen out of the closet. "Don't scare us like that!" exclaimed Mia "I could have sworn there was something…" said Jayden, Mike patted his leader's shoulder "Relax dude there's nothing here." "There's definitely something other worldly here I sensed it." Nariko went over to Jayden and gently placed her hand on his shoulder "I'm sorry Jayden…But we didn't sense anything…Could it be your imagination?" soon Ji entered the red ranger's room "Jayden…It's important to trust your instincts…But I don't feel another presence." the red ranger once again felt something go pass him, causing Jayden to take action. He quickly summoned his spin sword and turn around only to stop his blade close to Emily's and Nariko's face. Both girls gasp as they were greatly surprised by Jayden's sudden action. Realizing what he just did Jayden apologized "Sorry Nariko, Em…" he soon began looking around again, growling under his breath "Where are you?" The red ranger then left his room and into the dojo with the others following. While Jayden was looking around the dojo trying to locate the presence he was feeling Mike admitted to the others "You know he's really got that flipping out thing down path huh?" Nariko lightly elbowed the green ranger in the side "That's my fiancé you're talking about Mike!" "Sorry…" Kevin asked the others in a low voice "Anybody else feel anything?"

Soon the red ranger entered the bathroom after giving up his search for the presence he felt earlier. "I know something was there…" muttered Jayden, he stood before the sink, placing his hands on both sides leaning against it. Little did he knew a Nighlok by the name of Vulpes happened to be the one watching Jayden from the Netherworld with a mirror of his. "Mirror, mirror on his wall who's the most freaked out ranger of them all? Ha, ha, ha! This should feed his paranoia." said Vulpes who waved his hand in front of the mirror. Soon another wind blew pass Jayden making him looking quickly to his side to find nothing. He then shook his head and went ahead on turning the sink water on, the red ranger gathered some water in his hands and splashed some water upon his face. Jayden ceased for a moment and looked at the mirror muttering "It's gone…" he looked back at the running sink water before turning it off. The red ranger then wiped his face with a towel and quickly left out of the bathroom and towards Nariko's room. He lightly knocked on her door once reaching it, from inside he heard "Come in." Jayden then entered, quietly closing the door behind him. Nariko who happened to be sitting upon her bed brushing her hair looked at her fiancé "Oh Jayden…" "I'm sorry if I happened to disturb you." "No not at all…" she placed her brush in her lap and patted her mattress "Here come and sit with me." and the red ranger did just that, he sighed a bit as he sat down having Nariko lay her head upon his shoulder "You still feel that presence?" "Kind of…I have a feeling that a Nighlok is doing this to me." "Are you sure?" "Not entirely…But I do have something planned…Nariko I want you to come with me tomorrow." "To where?" "Spring Valley…My plan will most likely work there." "All right I'll go with you." "Then I'll take my leave so you can get some rest." but before Jayden could get up, Nariko stopped him from doing so "No wait…" "What is it?" "Could you at least stay here a bit Jayden until I fall asleep?" "All right…I'll stay…" Jayden then laid down on the bed followed by Nariko who rested her head on the red ranger's chest. Slowly but surely the princess closed her eyes and fell asleep, Jayden saw this and smiled. He soon wrapped arm around Nariko holding her in a protective way and just like that the red ranger fell asleep also.

The next day the couple left the household leaving Ji a note and made their way to Spring Valley. Upon arriving Nariko looked around at the scenery "I forgot how peaceful this place is…" Jayden then held her hand and began leading her towards the water "Come on we need to go this way." while they were heading for the water, in the Netherworld Vulpes happened to be watching the two with his mirror. Octoroo soon entered the little room he was residing in on the boat "So Vulpes…" "What?" "You have any luck spying on the red ranger?" "Luck? Try skill! It's tricky now because the red ranger can sense me, but my enchanted eye will see all! Oh it gives me evil fuzzies all over!" "Fuzzy smuzzy! All I care about is seeing him practicing that sealing symbol! If he perfects it Master Xandred will be sealed down here for good! And we all will be done for!" "Don't get your tentacles in a twist! Oh! It looks like he's starting to practice it right now and his little fiancé happens to be there with him!" "He's doing it? Really?" "See for yourself squidly!" Octoroo stood at Vulpes' side and watched through his mirror to see Jayden writing a symbol "Now we're seeing eye to eye!" once the red ranger was done, the symbol had smoke appear blinding the enchanted eye's sight. "What's wrong? Looks like smoke has gotten into your all seeing eye." said Octoroo "This can't be!" exclaimed Vulpes, the smoke began clearing only to reveal both Jayden and Nariko gone "I spy with my little eye…Nothing!" declared Octoroo, Vulpes grabbed his mirror "Where did they go? Ugh! I'll take care of it myself! Nuts!" the Nighlok then stood up and stormed off the boat having Octoroo yell after him "I want results!"

Vulpes soon arrived at Spring Valley to find no signs of Jayden or Nariko, he looked at the mirror in his hand "Ugh! I can't believe they forced us to come to this vile world!" from out of nowhere Nariko appeared and quickly grabbed Vulpes' mirror right out of his hand "I'll be taking that!" "No! My enchanted eye!" Jayden then jumped out from the water in his ranger form and attacked the Nighlok with his spin sword. As Vulpes fell upon his back, he quickly got back up on his feet "Argh! Give me back my mirror!" Nariko joined her fiancé's side, handing him the mirror "You know it's not nice to spy on people." "I said give it back!" "Jayden, Nariko!" called someone, the couple and Vulpes looked to see Mia and Kevin already in their ranger forms heading towards them. They soon stopped a few feet away from Vulpes, swords drawn "Kevin…This must be the Nighlok that Jayden has been sensing this whole time." "You know this fight isn't fair!" declared Vulpes "Neither is watching us but luckily I saw through you…When I splashed water on my face the presence I sensed went away, that's when I realized that water can help me block your spell. I knew then that this was the one place I could truly hide from you." said Jayden "Of course! The water in our world is more purer than the water of the evil Sanzu River." said Mia "And the water from the spring must have cut off the creepy Nighlok spell completely!" said Kevin "He may have fooled our Gap sensor but not us." said Nariko, Jayden then tossed the mirror into the air and cut it in half making Vulpes cry out "No my mirror! And I never got to see you practice that sealing symbol!" "So that's what you were after!" said Nariko "Who cares if you know all of you are still going down!" Jayden looked back at his fiancé "Our plan went perfectly now I want you to return to the household, the others and I will handle this Nighlok from here." "All right, be careful!" the Yamada heir then left Spring Valley, in order to let the rangers deal with Vulpes.

While running through the forest Nariko happened to run right into someone, sending them both falling onto their backs. "Ugh! What was that?" groaned Nariko "Hey what where you're going!" snapped someone, the princess looked to find it happened to be the fisherman who she bumped into "Why should I watch where I'm going? You're the one who ran into me!" "I did not! Besides I wasn't the one who was running!" before Nariko could say something else, she took a good look at the fisherman and who looked somewhat familiar to her "Have…Have we met before?" "Not sure…" the fisherman also took a good look at her, his eyes stopped on the princess' necklace and immediately recognized it "No way! Nariko is that you?" "How…How do you know my name?" "Nariko it's me! Antonio! Don't you remember me?" "Antonio?" she took one good look at him again and immediately recognized him "Oh my gosh Antonio?" "Yes!" the fisherman helped her up only to be wrapped in a tight hug by Nariko who exclaimed "Is it really you Antonio?" "Of course it's me! Who else could it be?" "When did you get here?" "I arrived in the city yesterday." "But…What are you doing here?" "Well I was going to go help Jayden and his team." "How can you do that? You're not a ranger…" "Oh contraire, you see dear Nariko things have change since I've been away now if you'll excuse me I must go and aid the rangers!" Nariko go of Antonio who quickly darted away and the princess was amazed at how fast he left only to hurry after "Oh Antonio I hope you know what you're doing!"

Later after watching the whole battle Nariko was surprised to find that Antonio can morph into the gold samurai ranger, and with help of him and his buddy Octozord, Antonio and the rangers defeated Vulpes for good. Antonio soon met up with the rangers still in his ranger form and dragging his cooler along "Well how about that guys? Was that golden with a capital G or what?" "Start talking! What's your story?" demanded Kevin, Antonio then powered down in front of the group "I just came to help because all of the Nighlok that have shown up…" "Hey you guys!" all of them looked to see Nariko running towards them "Nariko, we thought you went back to the household!" said Mia, the princess stopped right beside Antonio "Well I was…Until I ran into this guy here…Whom I must say I'm very proud and impressed of." "Wait…So you're saying you know this guy?" questioned Mike "Of course! He's on our side!" Antonio nodded and looked towards the red ranger "Yeah! Tell them Jay." from the moment he saw the gold ranger's identity Jayden couldn't stop smiling and asked "Is that really you Antonio?" "Ha! I knew you would remember me, including Nariko!" "I can't believe it's really you…" "Believe baby I'm back! And I'm ready for some action!" Antonio then approached Jayden doing some martial art moves, he tried landing a punch on the red ranger who easily stopped his fist with his hand. "You still think you can take me?" asked Antonio, Jayden simply smirk and they continued their fight which had they had started from the moment Antonio attempted to land a punch on the red ranger. Nariko couldn't stop smiling as she watched her fiancé and the fisherman fought, Emily then lightly pulled on the princess' arm "Nariko that guy is amazing! I vote he should join our team!" "Wait…He's good today but one battle doesn't make him a samurai." said Kevin, Mia shook her head "Say what you want but today Antonio definitely delivered his golden moment." Nariko laughed a bit while nodding in agreement "Now that I absolutely agree on Mia, it makes me really happy to see those two reunite after so long."


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

_**The next day at the Shiba household, the rangers, Nariko and Ji were in the living room discussing about Antonio and his gold ranger powers. "He's so fast when he's the gold ranger, I'm surprised he's not here already." admitted Emily, Kevin who was reading a book sighed a bit and closed it "Just because Antonio showed off when we beat that Nighlok doesn't mean he's fast at everything." "It's true…We really don't know much about him…But at least Jayden and Nariko can vouch for him." said Mia, Jayden nodded a bit "Yeah…We were friends from the moment we met." Nariko smiled a bit and soothingly rubbed her fiancé's back while looking at the others "Antonio's father ran the local fish market the times that Jayden, Antonio even Kagu and me played together well…" "They were the only times that Nariko and I felt like a kid." finished Jayden, the princess giggled a bit and leaned against her fiancé "But it did drive mentor crazy because it distracted us from our training." "Yes…That was before Antonio had to move away." "So if he moved away how did he become the gold ranger?" asked Mia, Kevin sighed a bit and said "Wait! He's definitely got some skills…But he's not a true samurai! It doesn't run in his family and he hasn't had any formal training! Plus we have no idea what this guy is up to!" Meanwhile at the pier Antonio was there wearing a suit, currently he was looking in his handheld mirror fixing his hair. He then looked at Octozord who had popped out of the cooler "Hey there buddy, how do I look?" the zord just made some noise and in turn Antonio put his mirror away and tucked Octozord back into the cooler before slipping on his suit jacket and making his way off the pier "It's time for me to go to the Shiba house and join the samurai rangers!"**_

_**Minutes passed and everyone was still waiting for the gold ranger's arrival, Ji happened to be pacing around a bit, anxious for the new ranger's arrival "Antonio is late…Can't say I'm surprised…" the samurai mentor then looked at mike who was sitting in a chair playing a video game "Did he say he was bringing the Octozord with him?" "I don't know…Why?" "Well when Jayden was a boy…He gave it to Antonio when I wasn't looking." Emily who happened to be arranging flowers in a vase, was surprised by this and looked towards Jayden "What? You gave him a zord?" "Look I was a little kid I didn't know any better." "By the time I found out Antonio had moved away and I didn't think he'd actually figure out a way to activate it, Jayden including Nariko threatened to quit being a samurai if I tried to get it back." said Ji, Jayden just looked away admitting "Like I said I was a little kid." "Wow such a rebel." said Mike "It sounds like you guys were really good friends I bet you both missed him when he moved away." said Mia, Nariko who was standing right next to Jayden, began playing with her necklace "Yeah…We did…" Suddenly Antonio gracefully slide in with a fishing rod upon his shoulder. Everyone watched as he did some moves with it and then fully faced them "Ladies and gentlemen I would like to introduce to you the sixth samurai, the gold ranger, me, Antonio Garcia!" "And you thought I was cocky." said Mike to Ji who simply grunted as Antonio fixed the fishing rod upon his shoulder, the hook fell down a bit and attached itself to the back of his pants "Jayden…Please allow me to join you and your team to fight against the Nighlok." the gold ranger then pulled on the fishing rod only to have the hook rip the back of his pants and start pulling his underwear. "Oh that's not good…" muttered Antonio, the rangers and Nariko began to laugh a bit at the gold ranger's funny display who in turn chuckled trying to play it off "Ha, ha, ha ,ha! It's no big deal, really its happened before…N-Not a lot or anything." In between laughs Jayden managed to say to the others "Can you guys help him?" he then stood up and grabbed Nariko's hand, both leaving the room and to outside, Ji cleared his throat "I'll just be a moment." and he also took his leave following the same way the couple had left.**_

_**Once Ji arrived outside where Jayden and Nariko were, a smile was brought to his face as he saw the couple sitting on the bench still laughing a bit from Antonio's display. "He hasn't changed a bit, huh Ji?" asked Jayden, Ji laughed a bit and nodded "He's as energetic as ever, he clearly still looks up to you." "Antonio always wanted to be a samurai, trying to follow in your footsteps Jayden." said Nariko, the red ranger nodded "Yeah…And I remember it like it was yesterday…I don't know what to do Ji…" "You're too close to this…Let me handle it…Come Nariko I may need your help." the Yamada heir gently placed her hand over her fiancé "Are you going to be ok Jayden?" "Yes…for now go with Ji, I need to think over some things." "All right." she gave her red ranger a kiss on the cheek and headed back inside the household with Ji.**_

_**10 minutes passed and everyone except for Jayden had gathered into the living room for a meeting with Antonio in order to asks some questions. Right now they sat around the table and Ji was currently looking at Antonio's samurai morpher "You were able to make this from what Jayden and Nariko taught you in studying the Octozord's systems?" "It really wasn't that hard." said Antonio "So what are you, some kind of techie?" asked Mike, Antonio began messing with his hands a bit "Uh…I don't know I've just been always good with gadgets." he then accidentally knocked a bowl of peanuts but Mia managed to catch in time without even looking and placed it back on the table, thus Antonio became a bit more nervous "Oh…Uh…Well…" He then relaxed as he saw Nariko smiling at him, having Antonio to continue on "Anyways…I have always just wanted to be a samurai I know I wasn't born into it like you guys were but I just kept practicing from what Jayden and Nariko taught me I was trying to take things to a higher level but I was really stuck…But when I figured out how to talk to Octozord with texting…Everything fell into place and now I am finally ready to join you in the fight against the Nighlok." "Yeah! It'd be great to have you along!" said Emily "The more the merrier." admitted Mike who then fist bump with Antonio only to have Ji disagree "No…I'm afraid that's not possible." "No? What do you mean?" questioned Antonio, Nariko who was sitting next to the samurai mentor turned to him "Ji…" "Nariko let me handle this…Antonio it's just too dangerous to put you out there without the necessary formal training." the gold ranger quickly stood up from his seat staring straight at Ji "But I don't understand! Didn't I help you all win yesterday?" "You did but not all battles will be that simple, if you don't have the training-" "But I do! Look sure I did it by myself but I can hold my own out there and you saw it!" "Antonio I'll hold onto this, ok?" Ji then tucked away the gold ranger's morpher in his shirt only to have Antonio jump onto the table "No! Give it back!"**_

_**The rangers quickly stood up and held Antonio back from getting to Ji. "Antonio stop!" exclaimed Emily, the rangers then accidentally push Antonio off the table as they turned and looked at the Gap sensor which went off. Ji pressed the symbol on the table making the map of the city appear just as Jayden came running in. Both Antonio and Jayden stared at each other for a moment until Ji said "It's at Benton Street, the under pass!" the red ranger then looked at his team "Lets go!" but before the rangers could leave Antonio stopped them "Wait Jayden!" the gold ranger got up from the floor staring at the red ranger "I can come with you right? Tell Ji how you and Nariko made me a samurai that I'm suppose to fight by your side." everyone was silent waiting for Jayden's answer which he soon gave "Ji is right…This isn't little kid's stuff anymore…I'm so sorry but you're not really a samurai and we don't need a sixth ranger." "But!" "I'm sorry…Lets go!" and the rangers took their leave from the household, Antonio sadly sighed and began taking his leave "Yeah…I'm sorry too…" not liking how sad Antonio looked Nariko was about to go after him until Ji grabbed her shoulder "Nariko where are you going?" "To comfort Antonio." "Nariko…" "Don't you Nariko me, how could you do that to someone like Antonio?" "Because-" "Because what? He doesn't have the formal training of the samurai?" "Nariko-" "My father once told me it's not all about the training or what family you come from that makes you a samurai but the determination and dedication to fight and protect innocent lives from evil…" "I know-" "No you don't…I've had enough of this I'm going whether you like it or not." she began leaving and completely ignored Ji's call for her to not go.**_

_**15 minutes later and Nariko found Antonio at the pier just fishing away. She approached the fisherman calling out to him "Antonio?" "What are you doing here Nariko?" "I wanted to make sure you were all right." "Like I would be all right after what Jayden said back at the household." "I figured you wouldn't be…" "So what are you here tell me yourself how I'm also not a samurai too?" "No I'm not…In fact I'm here to say how you are a samurai in my eyes." "Really?" "Yes." "But how come Jayden and Ji didn't think so?" "They're just worried you'll get hurt since you haven't had any of the formal training." "But I proved that yesterday!" "I know you did but that's their way to show that they care about you and your safety Antonio." the gold ranger angrily sighed, having Nariko go over and gently grab his shoulder "This is frustrating I know that…Which is why I'm going to have talk with Jayden and try to change his mind." Antonio looked at her a bit surprised "Really? You would do that for me?" "Of course I would! I mean we've been friends since we were little right and don't you worry I'll have a really good talk with my fiancé." "Thanks Nariko…" the two gave each other a friendly hug, once they ended it Antonio lightly chuckled "You know…I'm a bit surprised that you and Jay are engaged to each other, it's kind of hard to believe with the way how you two used to act around one another." Nariko lightly tapped the gold ranger's nose with her finger "Well start believing! Look I'm gonna head back to the household…See you later?" "Definitely." the Yamada heir smiled and took her leave with the gold ranger watching her, happily smiling a bit.**_

_**When Nariko returned to the household she discovered the rangers are already back since the Nighlok: Steeleto had escape from battle. As the princess pass through the front gate, she found her fiancé in front of the household, sitting on the bench staring at Antonio's samurai morpher. Nariko then approached Jayden determined to have a talk with him "It must have been hard for you, having to send your friend away like that." the red ranger brought his attention away from the morpher and to his love one who now stood in front of him "Nariko…I had no choice…He's not a real samurai…" he then got up from the bench and brushed passed her "Like Ji said having him around could be dangerous, not just for him but for us too." Nariko turned around sighing a bit, Jayden soon grabbed two practice swords from the training rack and handed one to his fiancé. The couple got into a fighting stance, preparing for their match. "You've known Antonio forever, the idea of him getting hurt must bother you." said Nariko "Of course he's my friend!" retorted Jayden who then made the first move which Nariko blocked, they clashed swords a bit before holding it there. "Leading your team on dangerous missions is hard on you, but putting an old friend like him at risk too that's too much pressure huh?" questioned the Yamada heir, both jumped back from each other unfortunately though Nariko was quicker and she hit Jayden in the back of the leg with her sword. This caused the red ranger to fall on one knee and freeze as his fiancé held her sword at his neck. "I hit the nail on the head didn't I Jayden?" asked Nariko, the red ranger then pushed her sword away "Think what you want." he got up on his feet and started to walk away until Antonio showed up "Nariko is right and you know it." Jayden turned to his old friend just as Nariko joined the gold ranger's side. "Why do you have to be so stubborn Jayden? I know the risks you need my help." said the fisherman, Jayden sighed a bit "Antonio we've already talk about this there-" "We're saving the world here! How can an extra ranger not help?" questioned Mike who arrived in the front along with Emily and Mia, joining up with Nariko and Antonio. "Look guys…" began Jayden only to have Mia interrupt him "Jayden, Antonio accepts the risks just like all of us. You're our leader but that doesn't make you responsible for what we choose to do." "Well said pretty lady." complimented Antonio, Jayden was about to protest until Kevin showed up "Jayden he doesn't have the training…But out there we can use the help I say we give him a chance." the gold ranger nodded "That's right!….Wait I have trained myself quite-" he was cut off by the Gap sensor blaring and soon Ji came out of the household "The attack is at the Northern Peninsula construction site!" Antonio held his hand out towards Jayden "Please…Let me have my samurai morpher…I won't let you down…This has been my dream, it always has." the red ranger was silent for just a moment before smiling and handing over the gold ranger's morpher "Antonio…You are the sixth samurai ranger." "All right…You won't regret this!" "Lets go!" and the rangers darted off with Ji and Nariko who was now smiling, very happy at what she witnessed.**_

_**Not long after the rangers safely returned to the house once defeating Steeleto with megazord and Octozord. Right now Antonio was outside in the front cooking some fish on the grill. As he put a plate of freshly grilled fish on the table Mia, Emily, Mike and Kevin took their seat. "This looks almost as good as my baked beans, mustard and mint fish casserole I make." told Mia, the other 3 rangers made disgusted faces and quickly looked away before the pink ranger could see them. Nariko, Ji and Jayden happened to be a few feet away from the others, having a discussion about today. "Jayden, Nariko…I may have been wrong to exclude Antonio so quickly." told Ji "I think we both were Ji." admitted Jayden, Nariko lightly scoffed "You think?" the red ranger chuckled a bit and wrapped his arm around her "Of course you had to prove us wrong but…Things keep changing on me so fast first taking on the team now Antonio…It's not like when it was just us." "Yes…But that's what being a leader is all about." said Ji "It's not all on you Jayden, the others have chosen their path you did not choose it for them." told Nariko, the red ranger smiled a bit and nodded "You two are right, thanks…" the 3 then looked over as Antonio managed to catch their attention "Hey! Are you 3 wallflowers gonna join us?" "Yeah! Hurry before I wolf it all down!" said Mike who began stuffing his face with grilled fish. The couple laughed and made their way over to the group with Ji following while muttering "You don't need to ask us twice." once they joined up with the others, Antonio handed Jayden a plate with grilled fish. "It's good to have you back buddy, you're worth your weight in gold." declared Jayden, this made the others laugh while the two childhood friends fist bump one another. **_


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13_

_Today at the Shiba household, everyone had gathered in the living room for Antonio to present a little someone to his friends "Behold! This is our new and improved friend, the Clawzord!" they took a look at the zord which happened to be in a wooden basin filled with water, just soaking itself. "Where did you get this?" asked Jayden "The Clawzord was battle damage years ago so I hid it away." answered Ji "Mentor asked me to perform a bit of my tech wiz magic." told Antonio, both Jayden and Nariko looked at each other before turning their attention to Ji who replied "I wanted to see if he could actually do it." the gold ranger then pulled out his samurai morpher and began pressing some buttons "It's pretty simple, if I text over some samurai power symbols to reprogram him Clawzord will be back in business." Antonio then put his morpher away while the others continued to observe their new zord. "So you've been using electronic symbols?" asked Mia "Welcome to the 21st__ century." declared Antonio "Impressive…But this is the work of a computer nerd not a samurai." told Kevin, his words hurting Antonio's feelings a bit also causing the others to look at the blue ranger wondering why he's acting this way. "Look I know I wasn't born into the samurai life like you guys but I'm trying to help in my own way!" told the gold ranger, Nariko sternly looked at the blue ranger "Kevin you've already accepted Antonio into this team." he abruptly stood up from his seat "I said I'd give him a chance Nariko, but being a true samurai involves much more than pressing some buttons!" Kevin then stormed out of the room, Antonio sadly replied "Yes…Being a true samurai is what's in your heart." "It's up to you to change his mind Antonio." told Jayden_

_Later that night while everyone was in their room asleep, Antonio snuck out of his room and cautiously looked around. Seeing that no one was roaming the hall, the gold ranger tip toed over to a empty suit of Japanese armor and placed a small camera inside "These little cameras will let me see everything Kevin does." he pressed a button on the camera which started to record, Antonio then quietly entered the dojo and placed a camera behind a plant, along with another inside the practice dummy's helmet "I'm gonna learn to eat, drink, sleep being a samurai." "What are you doing?" the gold ranger jumped and quickly turned around to find Nariko standing right behind him, arms crossed over her chest. "N-Nariko!" whispered Antonio "You still haven't answered my question Antonio." "If I tell you…Promise you won't tell anyone about this?" "I promise." "Well…I'm placing my cameras around the place so I can watch Kevin and lean how to be a true samurai." "Antonio…You're already a samurai." "Yeah…But not a true samurai in Kevin's eyes." "There's no need to prove yourself to anyone anymore." "Yes there is…And that person happens to be Kevin…" Nariko sighed a bit in frustration, having Antonio gently grab her shoulders "Please let me do this Nariko, I promise you this won't take long." "Oh…All right…Just don't go overboard on this." "No worries and thanks Nariko." the gold ranger gave a quick kiss to the princess's forehead, who chuckled a bit "Well I'm heading back to bed and you better head back also." "Don't worry I will." Nariko lightly patted Antonio's cheek before making her way back to her room to get some rest._

_The next morning at exactly 8 o' clock, Kevin came into the dojo dressed in his training uniform and began his work out. While doing this Antonio was in the another room secretly watching the blue ranger, thanks to his cameras that he place last night. This continued on to the night and currently at 11:30, Kevin had moved to the living and began reading a book about the samurai life, Antonio started to doze off but quickly shook his head to keep him awake a bit longer. Minutes passed and Kevin finally went back to his room to rest. Once in bed Kevin immediately fell asleep just as the clock struck midnight and in the room across from the blue ranger's was Antonio who also had fallen asleep at this time. The following morning Kevin once again woke up early and decided to leave the household for a run, Antonio woke up just in time to see him leave. The gold ranger quickly got up and hurried after the blue ranger to observe him more._

_Later that morning Nariko had woken up before anyone else and headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. While she was cutting up some fruit and putting the pieces into a big bowl Emily and Mia soon entered the kitchen. "Morning Nariko!" greeted Emily "Morning you two." Mia went over to her side to see what the princess is doing "What are you making Nariko?" "I thought we would have a simple breakfast today, you girls don't mind have mixed fruit for breakfast?" "Not at all." "That sounds yummy to me!" said Emily, Nariko smiled and grabbed a banana and began to peel it before cutting it "Great, I'm almost done here but could you help set out some dishes in the living room for the others?" "No problem, come on Emily." said Mia, the girls gathered up some bowls and other things before heading out to the living room. Minutes later Mike, Emily, Mia and Nariko were having breakfast in the living room. While they were enjoying their food Jayden soon arrived and took a seat next to his fiancé. He then noticed that the blue ranger is missing and looked at the others "Where's Kevin?" "He's usually back from his morning jog by now." said Mia "Usually? More like always you could say I watched the guy." said Mike, Jayden chuckled a bit and started to put some fruit in to his bowl, but soon stop and once again looked at the others "I've got a bad feeling about this…"_

_Minutes passed and the group was anxiously waiting for Kevin to return from his morning jog. Nariko began pacing back and forth a bit in the room while Mia, Emily and Mike patiently sat there and Jayden simply just stared at the clock before him. Soon it was 8 o' clock and still no signs of the blue ranger. "Kevin would never be this late from his morning run, he's always here by 8 A.M. sharp for his morning practice he would have at least called." said Jayden who continued to stare at the clock and once a minute had passed he stood up from his seat "Ok enough waiting it's time to take action." as Mia, Emily and Mike stood up and left the living room, Jayden walked over to Nariko cupping her cheeks "We'll be back…In the meantime try and contact Antonio, see where he's at." "All right be careful out there." "Always am." the red ranger gave his fiancé a quick peck on the lips and took his leave with the other rangers._

_Later Jayden and the others managed to find Antonio and Kevin who were trying to defend themselves against some Moogers and a Nighlok by the name of Antberry. Though once they defeated the Nighlok, he of course came back again as a giant. Though thanks to their Megazord and the Octozord, the rangers got pass Antberry's slime and successfully defeated the Nighlok for good. Back at the household the rangers had brought toys that the Moogers have stolen from little children. In the dojo Nariko was putting the toys in a big container with the help of Mike, Kevin and Antonio, the green ranger picked up a toy and looked at it "Stealing toys from kids, now that's low even for a Nighlok." "But we get to make things right, that's a great thing about being a samurai, right Antonio?" said Kevin, seeing how the blue ranger finally accepted Antonio brought a smile upon Nariko's face and she continued on putting the toys into the container. Soon Jayden, Mia and Emily entered the room "It's best that we return these anonymously, we don't want to bring attention to ourselves." told Jayden "It'll be fun to play Santa!" said Emily, Mia smiled and couldn't help but say "Ho, ho, ho!" this made the others laugh a bit and Antonio turned to Kevin "She's right, let's do this." the two fist bump each other and quickly finished up putting the toys into the container. The rangers then took their leave from the household again to return the toys to energetic children to play with once again. _


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Today was just any other day but it happened to be really quiet and empty at the household, except for Emily and Nariko who were wandering the hall together looking for the others, that are mysteriously missing. "Hello? Where is everybody?" called Emily, they went into the living to find no one there and the yellow ranger turned to the princess "Did they go out without us?" "Not sure, let's keep looking." while the girls continued their search, the door leading to the kitchen and Kevin cautiously poked his head out. Once seeing that it's clear, he quickly made his way to the dojo where Mike and Mia were preparing decorations. "This is gonna be tough to pull off!" admitted Kevin, Mia pass by him carrying a box of paper chains "Have a little faith Kev, once we get this stuff ready all we have to do is hide it." Mike soon finished up writing a birthday sign for Emily and Nariko "Tomorrow is going to be great, it's Emily's first birthday without her sister and Ji said that Nariko really hasn't had a real birthday party in a long time. It's so cool that we're doing something special for the both of them, I'm just surprise to learn that their birthday is on the same day." suddenly there was a knock upon the door causing the 3 to freeze in their spot. The door then slid open to reveal that it was only Jayden, having Kevin and Mia sigh in relief making Mike smile "You should've seen your faces it looked like Master Xandred was at the door." "Ha, ha we just didn't want Emily and Nariko to find us." said Kevin, Jayden chuckled a bit "The coast is clear both Emily and Nariko went outside, what about the cake?" "I've got all the ingredients for an awesome cake, I just need to bake it without them noticing." said Mia only to have the guys exclaim "No!" noticing how Mia was looking at them Kevin quickly said "We don't want to risk it! Antonio already ordered it from the bakery." "Oh…Ok…"

Meanwhile with Antonio, he happened to be located at the river, patiently sitting there fishing. After waiting for a long time he sighed "Come on fish! Bite! Of all the days for Bass to be hiding!" the gold ranger then looked back at the Clawzord who happened to be sitting on top of the cooler "They're Emily's favorite and Nariko well she loves any type of fish…Emily is so cool I mean she accepted me right into the group from the start and Nariko…Oh she's still a sweetheart to me! I just want to catch them an awesome gift for their birthday tomorrow." the Clawzord made some noise having Antonio lightly pet him "Aw…That's right buddy I'll get you up and running on full speed in no time you…Can come to their birthday party too!" the Clawzord made a happy noise making the gold ranger smile and continue on with his fishing.

With Nariko, she was with Kagu and her fiancé Kenji roaming around the city happily chatting with one another. "So Nariko…What are you going to do for your birthday tomorrow?" asked Kagu "Um…Not sure…" "What do you mean not sure? Aren't Jayden and the others planning something special for you?" "Well that's just it…Neither Emily or I have seen Jayden and the others today." "Huh…That's strange…" "Maybe they just had something to do." said Kenji "Maybe…But Ken-chan and I are definitely visiting you and Emily tomorrow to wish you both a happy birthday!" "Kagu…Again with the Ken-chan?" "But that's my nickname for you." "Couldn't my nickname be at least Ken-kun?" "But that wouldn't be fun at all!" "Kagu!" Nariko just laughed at the couple "I see you two are still funny when you're together." "Hey! What's that suppose to mean Nariko?" asked Kagu, Kenji then looked at his watch "Oh man…I knew I forgot to do something…" he looked at the princess "Sorry to leave you like this Nariko but there's something I've got to do." "No it's quite all right, see you two later?" "Of course. Come on Kagu!" as Kenji began leading Kagu away she couldn't help but whine a bit "But Kenji!" Nariko laughed a bit and continued on her way but as she did, the princess soon heard screaming up ahead. She quickly head towards the commotion to find a Nighlok by the name of Splitface stealing people's spirits "What in the?" "Well, well look what we have here another spirit to steal!" Nariko began backing up as the Nighlok began approaching her "Now no need to be afraid all I want is your spirit." the princess tried to quickly turn around instead she tripped and fell upon her back. "Now you simply just made it easier for me!" said the Nighlok, Nariko sat up and began backing away again. To her relief the rangers arrived to stop the evil creature "Snack time is over for you Nighlok!" said Jayden, Emily quickly went over to the princess and helped her up "Nariko are you ok?" "Yes I'm fine…" as Mike and Antonio tried attacking the Nighlok, it used its ability body swarm and slip right pass the rangers and over to the girls. "Mm! You both will make a fine dessert!" said Splitface, Emily quickly got in front of Nariko to protect her unfortunately she got her spirit stolen by the Nighlok. The yellow ranger then fell to the ground and Nariko quickly knelt by her side "Emily!" Splitface then grabbed the princess by her throat and made her face him "Now for yours!" he soon stole Nariko's spirit right out of her body and once Splitface obtained it, the Nighlok simply let the princess go who immediately fell to the ground right by Emily.

Not believing at what just happened Jayden angrily charged at Splitface, his spin sword drawn "What did you do to Nariko and Emily?" Mia quickly went over to the girls, she gently patted Nariko's cheek "Nariko! Nariko are you ok?" she then turned to Emily pulling the yellow ranger into her arms "Emily! Emily wake up!" Splitface then landed a few feet away from the rangers after dodging Jayden's attack "Mm! I have to say their spirits were delicious! And in 24 hours they'll be mine forever! Of course if you defeat me you can have all their spirits back but you won't have the chance because I'm heading back to the Netherworld where no mortal can follow!" shocked by what they just heard Mia yelled "Guys we have to stop this creep!" "All of you try and enjoy you last day with your friends because I'm leaving and I won't be coming back!" announced Splitface "No! We won't let that happen!" said Jayden and the guys charged at the Nighlok who then did his body swarm and injured them. To their dismay Splitface managed to make his escape into the Netherworld through a gap. "Oh no…Poor Emily and Nariko…The sun is already setting by this time tomorrow they may never wake up…" said Mia, Jayden quickly went over to his fiancé's side and gently picked up her unconscious form "Come on let's get Nariko and Emily back to the household this instant." the rangers nodded while Jayden carried off Nariko, Mike was the one who picked up Emily and carried her away with Mia, Kevin and Antonio closely following.

That night at the household both Emily and Nariko were tucked away in bed, peacefully sleeping. Ji simply just watched as Mia sat by Emily's bed and Jayden sat by Nariko's while Kevin and Mike stood off to the side, after a minute passed in silence Ji said "54 people including Emily and Nariko have their spirits stolen, official hospital reports say that the patients are resting comfortably but we know better…" "I can't believe that by tomorrow night Emily and Nariko including all those people could be asleep forever…We have to defeat that Nighlok before that happens!" "But he said he won't leave the Netherworld…What can we do?" said Mia "We have to do something…No matter what it takes we have to save them." said Mike, Jayden just remained quiet through out the whole conversation. He gently grabbed Nariko's hand and held it tightly as the red ranger watched his sleeping fiancé, trying to figure out a way to save Nariko's and Emily's spirit.

The next day inside the room the girls were resting in Mia sat by Emily's side, gently wiping her forehead with a wet towel with Mike by her side. Though as she did this the yellow ranger quietly groaned and slowly opened her eyes "Emily!" said Mia, she then looked over at Nariko to see she was waking up also "And Nariko! She's awake too!" mike towards the door calling out "Hey! Emily and Nariko are awake!" as the girls sat up in bed Mike quickly fix Emily's pillows while Mia fixed Nariko's just as Ji, Jayden and Kevin came running in. "Sorry guys…I'm let him get me." Emily tiredly said, Mike shook his head at her "Don't be silly, we're just glad you're ok." while the green ranger handed her a cup of water, Jayden went over to Nariko's side "Hey Nariko…How are you feeling?" "Not myself…Jayden…I'm so sorry for being a burden to you like this…" "What are you talking about? You're no burden to me." "Yes I am…I can't even defend myself from a Nighlok without having you or the others there to protect me now look at what has happened to me…Even to Emily…" "Nariko you're going to be fine." "Thanks for putting on the brave face for the both of us Jayden…But we know we're not ok…" Emily slowly nodded "Nariko is right…I feel very empty…" "Don't worry…We'll figure it out." assured Mia "We're not going to let the both of you down, we'll save you…Just hold on until then…I promise I won't let anything happen to you Nariko." said Jayden who then grabbed his fiancé's hand and laid a gently kiss upon it. She just gave him a small tired smile before slowly closing her eyes, falling back asleep. Emily did the same thing also causing Mia to exclaim "No! They're falling back to sleep!" "Emily!" exclaimed Mike, automatically the yellow ranger didn't respond causing the green ranger to storm out of the household. "Mike!" exclaimed Kevin, he ran after his friend along with Mia, Jayden gently let go of Nariko's hand and looked towards Ji "Look after them." the samurai mentor just nodded, the red ranger then laid a kiss upon his fiancé's forehead and quickly ran out of the household to catch up with the others.

Back at the area where the rangers fought Splitface, Mike arrived with his spin sword in hand and approached the gap that Splitface escaped through. "Nighlok! Come out you coward! You can't do this to Emily and Nariko! You hear me?" he began attacking the pillar, Kevin and Mia quickly arrived in time to see this. The blue ranger then grabbed Mike by the shoulder and pushed him away "Calm down! That won't do anything!" told Mia "Then what should we do? Tell me what should we do?" questioned the green ranger, Jayden soon arrived at the area also only to quickly stop in his tracks once Deker appeared before him "You!" "It seems that I have bad timing, I thought we could finally duel but you're obviously preoccupied." "If you know that then go away! I don't have time for your games stranger." just as Jayden pass him to join the others Deker said "There is one way for humans like you to enter the Netherworld." this quickly caught Mike's attention "Really?" "Simply trade your human existence to become a Nighlok willing give yourself over to them and pass through the gap." told Deker "Wait…Are you saying you made that choice?" questioned Jayden "I don't remember how it happened to me but I'm living proof that it could be done." Deker then turned into his Nighlok form which surprised the rangers, he looked back at them "I dare you to do it, you can then fight in ways no living human can it'll make our impending duel more glorious." Deker immediately took his leave from the area and once he was gone Mia lowly said "Become a Nighlok?" the rangers then looked at the gap upon the pillar for a bit and Mike nodded his head "I'll do it." "Wait…It's our mission to save the entire world you can't just…" started Kevin only to have Mike interrupt "Then you stay behind…Both Emily and Nariko are the best of us…They have the most sweetest and caring spirits and I won't let that Nighlok keep it." Jayden then grabbed the green ranger's shoulder "Mike…I know how much you care about Emily, we all do…But remember it's our duty to protect and save the many!" "What I want to save right now is Emily! And I'll do whatever it takes!" "We also need to save all those other poor people in the hospital…I'll go with you Mike…" said Mia, the green ranger then looked at his leader "You know Jayden…I thought you would be one of the first people to join me concerning this involves Nariko…Do you even care about her?" "Of course I do! I care deeply care about her! Which is why as a team we're doing this together come on!"

As they began to approach the gap a voice immediately stopped them in their tracks "Wait stop!" the rangers looked to see Antonio standing there on the side "Mentor told me you guys were here." "Antonio?" wondered Jayden, the gold ranger approach them "I think I may be able to draw that Nighlok back through the gap." "For real? How?" asked Mike "It will take a lot of symbol power and the Clawzord." told the gold ranger who went back over to his cooler and let the Clawzord out. Jayden and the others then pulled out their spin swords while Antonio pulled out his morpher and typed in the symbol power "Let's do this guys!" the rangers spun their disk which cause their sword to glow and together they all said "Symbol power live!" and the power went straight to the Clawzord who began to glow "Again!" said Antonio, they did it again and the Clawzord grew some more. The gold ranger looked at his friends "More! We need more symbol power for it to fully activate!" the group did the same thing two more times and the Clawzord grew to the size its suppose to in turn it fully activated. Because of this Splitface suddenly shot out of the gap and towards the Clawzord only to be hit by its claw. As the Nighlok landed hard on the ground he couldn't help but wonder "Hey! What's going on? W-What is that?" "That's my buddy Clawzord and he's new in town!" answered Antonio "But I was in the Netherworld how did you get me here?" "It's simple when we came in contact I marked you with a symbol the same symbol I've been working with to program the Clawzord." "What? You marked me?" "Yeah and after I finished programming the Clawzord I just needed the other rangers to help me activate him once we did that I knew you would be drawn out of the Netherworld just like a magnet and it worked like a charm!" "This is outrageous! I refused to believe you can beat me like this! No, no, no!" "Shut your mouths! You're gonna pay for what you did to Emily and Nariko!" told Mike "It's time to end this!" said Mia "We're gonna take back every spirit you've stolen!" said Kevin, Jayden took out his morpher "Enough talk it's time to light you up!"

The rangers quickly morphed and began fighting with Splitface, to their delight the Nighlok couldn't do his body swarm thanks to Antonio's marking. Seeing that he was in deep trouble Splitface tried making an escape only to be stopped by Kevin's and Mia's weapons. Mike then charged at the Nighlok with his Forest Spear and threw Splitface towards Jayden who easily destroyed the Nighlok with his Fire Smasher. Though of course Splitface returned as a giant, seeing as the rangers couldn't form their megazord without Emily, Antonio handle the battle with the Clawzord which turned into a megazord by itself. He soon defeated the nasty Nighlok with the help of Jayden, Mike and Kevin's Battle Wing, once Splitface was destroyed all the spirits he stolen immediately returned to the people's bodies who immediately woken up from their slumber.

That night back at the household, Emily and Nariko were their normal selves after their spirits returned. Currently they were being led down the hall eagerly by Mia who said "Come on you two!" "Mia! What's up?" asked Emily "Don't worry we're fine now." said Nariko "I know but the both of you are about to get even better!" said Mia, the girls soon reached the living room only for Emily and Nariko to find it beautifully decorated in yellow and silver. Both girls immediately smiled and said "What is all this?" then the guys jumped out from their hiding spots yelling "Surprise! Happy birthday!" "Are you both surprised?" asked Kevin, both girls happily nodded while Mike went over and handed a envelope to Emily from her sister Jayden approached his fiancé with a present which he handed it to her "Happy birthday love." though once she opened her present the princess gasp "Oh my! Jayden it's beautiful!" "I know how much you adored music boxes so I got this for you with a little help from Antonio and Ji." "Oh I love it thank you!"

Nariko gave Jayden a sweet kiss on his lips before going over to Antonio and Ji to give them a hug. Then Mike covered Emily's eyes while Jayden covered Nariko's and both guys led the girls over to the table. "And what's a birthday without a cake!" said Antonio, both Mike and Jayden uncovered the girls eyes for them to see their nicely designed cake. Soon Kevin realized there was another name on the cake and wondered out loud "Clawzord?" "It's his birthday too." said Antonio, Clawzord who was on the table happily made some noise making everyone laugh. "You guys are the best!" declared Emily "No Emily…Mike is right both you and Nariko are the best we're just so happy and relieved to see the both of you are ok, today victory really is ours." said Jayden, Mia then grabbed the knife "Well…Who wants cake?" both girls realized something and looked at each other, Nariko then looked back at the pink ranger "Oh…Uh…You baked us a cake?" "No…Sorry…We got this cake at the bakery." "We understand you were busy." said Emily "Well let's dig in!" said Nariko "Well you girls blow out your candles!" reminded Kevin "Make a wish first!" added Mia, both girls leaned in and blew out their candles making everyone cheer. Nariko and Emily smiled at each other and together they both hugged one another thus continuing to enjoy their birthday party with the people they love dearly by their sides.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Deep in the Netherworld, inside the boat upon the Sanzu River, Master Xandred has isolated himself in his cabin as his power began surging due to the water level rising. While the evil lord began loudly growling and yelling, the boat began swaying back and forth "Oh ah oh! Master Xandred's roar has even the rocks rolling, look at them go!" said Octoroo who looked out of the boat's window, Dayu happened to be looking out also "I'm glad you're enjoying it, if the ship keeps tossing around like this I'm gonna be sick!" then the Furrywarts appeared and began chanting happily "Be sick, be sick, be sick!" Octoroo walked away from the window "Just be glad the Boss decided to lock himself in his cabin while his power is surging…All we have to do is protect him from other Nighlok until he finishes absorbing his new powers and this chaos finally stops." Dayu sighed and looked towards Master Xandred's door only to hear him angrily roar again.

In the city due to Master Xandred locking himself up to absorb his powers, the Moogers appeared and began reeking havoc since no one was in charge of them for the time being. At the household Jayden was outside with Nariko, sitting by the pond garden and currently the red ranger was tickling his fiancé who tried to keep his hands away "J-Jayden! Stop it!" "Why don't you make me?" "I will!" Nariko managed to grab Jayden's hands and tried to wrestle him to the ground but the red ranger easily overpowered her. Thus he had the princess gently fall upon her back with him hovering over her body, Nariko giggled and tried to get back up but Jayden had her pinned to the ground. Before anything else could happen the couple heard the Gap sensor go off and looked towards the house. Jayden then looked back at his fiancé "Duty calls." he gave a quick kiss to Nariko and got off of her to run towards the front gate with the other rangers following.

Back in the Netherworld Master Xandred was still locked up in his cabin only to bark at Octoroo from inside "Noodleface! Unlock this door!" Octoroo simply just stood a few feet away from the door, feeling a bit nervous "Oh ah oh…This is bad with the Boss still struggling who knows what kind of despicable and conniving Nighlok might come around and-" though as Octoroo turned around he came face to face with a spider like Nighlok that had a face of an ox on its chest who said "Despicable and conniving?" "Arachnitor! I didn't mean you! I meant someone really despicable and conniving! What are you doing here anyway? N-Not that it's not great to see you and everything." "I heard Master Xandred was 'tied up' now that I see that it's true." "Uh…Yeah…Pretty much…" "Then this would be an excellent opportunity for some bold and ambitious Nighlok to seize his throne with your help." "With my help!" "What do you say?" Octoroo began walking away from the Nighlok "Oh ah oh…You really had me going there Arachnitor, seize the throne, heh, heh, heh even in the state he is in now no one can't beat the Master in a fight." "Of course not we both know Xandred can't be beaten but he can be sealed away!"

Meanwhile at the household the rangers returned after fighting so many Moogers with their Megazords. In the living room the group was trying figure out what to do for the time being before another attack happens "I don't know what to do, we fought so hard but the Sanzu River keeps seeping into our world." said Mia " I can't believe this is happening." muttered Mike "What else can we do? We've beaten the Nighlok every time." said Emily "We can't think about winning or losing, we have to believe in ourselves and keep fighting." told Jayden having Kevin nod in agreement "Jayden is right we can't give up no matter what." soon both Ji and Nariko entered the room just as Kevin said that. "I'm glad to hear that because Nariko and I may have found something that could help us." said Ji, Nariko pulled out a journal from behind her back and opened it, laying it upon the table for the rangers to see. Jayden immediately recognized the picture and looked at the two "The black box? Ji, Nariko we can't…" "What is it?" asked Mia "A magic talisman, created by the very first red ranger, it is said that it can unite the symbol powers of all rangers into one." told Nariko "Ok cool…So lets fire it up." said Mike "It's not as simple as that…The red ranger never finished the talisman." informed Jayden, Nariko nodded "Yes…Many have tried but none have the skill and power to complete it." "What about Antonio? He's a tech wiz." suggested Emily, Mike nodded "Yeah I mean the guy programmed a zord like it was a coffee maker." "But he doesn't have mastery of symbol power like we do…you know how much it drains us each time we use it?" reminded Kevin only to have Jayden agree "Kevin is right, trying to transfer even a few of our symbol powers into the box could destroy him, I can't ask him to do this." "Jayden…None of us want to see Antonio get hurt but…" said Emily only to have Mia finish for her "We're talking about saving the human race." "If he's willing…Give him a shot." said Mike, the red ranger was silent for a bit, thinking it over before nodding "Ok…" "First you must retrieve the black box, for generations it has been protected by the guardians of the Tengen Gate." said Ji "Whom my family is good friends with so I'll be going with you." informed Nariko, having the rangers nod in understanding.

Later the group had arrived at the location of the gate, though as they approached it Mike said "This is the Tengen gate? It's just a big wood thing!" "The Tengen gate is an important part of ranger history Mike." they all stopped at the gate and bowed except for Mike before continuing on in, while entering the temple area Nariko stopped in front of a stone causing the others to stop also. "This commemorates where the first samurai rangers battled the Nighlok army." told Nariko "They said the Sanzu River flooded the entire city." said Emily "Where happened?" asked Mike "The rangers defeated them because they never gave up, and they took their training seriously." answered Kevin, an old man then approached the group "They certainly did…All though the legends told us that the green ranger was a bit of a prankster." "No way." said Mike, the old man nodded "Apparently he drove the blue ranger crazy but they were still the best of friends…I am Daisuke the elder guardian." the group bowed to the elderly man who kindly greeted them "Welcome to the Tengen Gate, your mentor advised us that you were coming please come in." while Kevin and the others made their way in Daisuke went over to the princess "Ah! Dear Nariko how wonderful to see your face!" "It's nice to see you too Daisuke." "Look at you! You're growing into a fine beautiful woman, come here and give me a hug!" Nariko smiled and gave Daisuke his hug, though once they broke the hug the elder guardian notice Jayden still staring at the stone "A penny for your thoughts Jayden?" "It's nothing." "You haven't told them of your secret have you?" "They're my friends Daisuke…I don't like lying to them but…" Daisuke went over to Jayden, putting his hand on his shoulder lightly gripping it "I'm sorry Jayden…But it is your responsibility to be the red ranger." "I know…I won't fail them.." Daisuke then began walking away and Jayden was about to too until he noticed the look on his fiancé's face, he then immediately knew what was bothering her "Nariko…" "Don't Jayden…I really don't want to talk about this certain subject at all." "I understand…" he held out his hand to her which she took and the couple followed after Daisuke into the temple.

There inside Mia and Kevin were looking at painting upon the wall while they looked Daisuke came to their side "Its an old folktale…A young woman made a deal with the Nighlok king to save the life of her beloved…But the king tricked her and turned them both into Nighlok." "Sure does sound like something a Nighlok would do." said Kevin "The king took away the man's memory…And cursed him to wander the Earth alone forever." Mia continued to stare at the painting and touched the drawing of a woman "It's strange…It's almost as if I met this woman before…" the group then sat down in a circle and Daisuke brought out a black wooden container. He removed the top to reveal a small black box with the samurai symbol upon its surface "The Black Box…The most powerful samurai weapon ever conceived…Few even know of its existence." Jayden took the weapon out of the wooden container and gazed upon it, he then looked at the elder guardian smiling a bit "Thank you Daisuke…I'll protect it with my very life." "I hope your friend can program it…With each passing day the Nighlok presence grow stronger…I fear soon that even this sacred place will be corrupted by their evil…"

Soon a fellow guardian entered carrying a tray of tea, he set the tray down and Daisuke grab the cups passing them around "Now…Let us drink tea together…To honor the ancient rangers and for good fortune in battle." Nariko was the first to drink her tea only to spit it out and drop her cup. Immediately she grabbed her throat and collapsed to the ground, Jayden quickly pulled his fiancé into his arms "Nariko!" "J-Jayden! The drink…It's poisoned!" suddenly a fellow guardian came running in "Daisuke! There are Nighlok in the garden!" "Nighlok!" growled Kevin "But we can't leave Nariko here!" told Mia, the princess shook her head "Don't worry about me…Go, hurry!" immediately Kevin, Mia, Mike and Emily left but Jayden stayed "What…What are you doing Jayden? Y-You need to stop the Nighlok!" "No! I'm not leaving your side!" Daisuke quickly brought out 2 pillows and put them down on the ground "Here Jayden, lay Nariko down." he did as he was told and soon a fellow guardian came running in with some herbs and a cup of tea. Daisuke grabbed the cup and handed it to Jayden who handed it to Nariko to drink. While he held her head up to drink, Octoroo then entered the room "What a joke! Seriously? You're going to fight my black magic potion with dried mushrooms?" Daisuke turned to the creature "Foolish Nighlok! Your forces were defeated here once before and they shall be again!" "Oh ah oh! You want a piece of me too?" "Wait! It's me you want! Let the guardians go!" said Jayden, Octoroo simply just shrugged "Fine by me I just need one thing from you red ranger, you're going to show me the symbol you red rangers use to seal away Master Xandred and also I'm here to take the pretty Yamada princess too for my master." "That I will never allow!" the red ranger quickly picked his fiance and dashed out of the room, determined to keep Nariko safe in anyway.

Though once he reached outside, Jayden immediately stopped in his tracks once seeing that Octoroo was already outside. "It's just a simple question red ranger…Just show me the sealing symbol and I'll give you the antidote but you also have to surrender the Yamada princess over. That way it'll save us both a lot of grief." told the squid face nighlok only to have Jayden glare at him "Never." "Heh! That's how you want to play it? Keep in mind red ranger, your precious princess doesn't have much time." Jayden tightened his hold on Nariko, knowing what Octoroo said is right. To his relief Antonio came running in at the right moment "Hey! The man said no!" as he morphed into the gold ranger, Jayden safely put his fiancé off to the side and gently cupped her face "Just hang on for me Nariko I'm gonna go get that antidote." "I'll try Jayden…" the red ranger then headed over to Antonio in order to help him fight Octoroo and retrieve the antidote. While the two rangers were busy fighting the squid face nighlok, Deker who had secretly been watching the whole time made his way over to Nariko. She tiredly looked at Deker as he approached "Who…Who are you?" "The name is Deker…" "What…What are you doing here?" "You shall see soon enough and seeing that you can't move much, makes things much easier." Deker then picked up Nariko and turned to the fight between the rangers and Octoroo "Hey fisherman, red ranger!" both rangers stopped what they were doing and were surprised to find Deker standing there. "Huh? Hey what are you doing here?" demanded Antonio "Relax fisherman…I'll take good care of your dear Yamada princess for you red ranger." with that Deker began walking away with Nariko in his arms which causes Jayden to abandon the fight with Octoroo and run after the swordsman "Nariko!" "Jayden wait!" yelled Antonio who also abandon the fight to run after his childhood friend.

Unfortunately to the gold ranger's dismay, he lost sight of Jayden while running through the forest "No…I can't believe I lost him and Nariko…Wait…What about the others?" Antonio quickly dash though the forest and soon found the other rangers on the ground unconscious, due to the fight with Arachnitor who for some odd reason is nowhere in sight. The gold ranger looked back and forth at the unconscious rangers "Mike, Em, Mia, Kevin! Guys wake up!" but they still remained unconscious, causing Antonio to fall to his knees in defeat "What am I suppose to do now?" Meanwhile at a river Deker was treading through the water with an unconscious Nariko in his arms "Stop right there!" Deker did stop and turned around to find Jayden standing a few feet behind him panting "So you've finally caught up red ranger." "Give me back Nariko right now!" "I will in due time…But don't you want to save her first? She's still has the poison in her system and I know a way to get rid of it." "You do?" "Yes…Follow me and see for yourself." seeing that there was no other way, Jayden reluctantly followed Deker who continued his journey through the river while thinking "Finally the opportunity has arrived…Soon I shall have my divine moment and duel the red ranger."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Back at the Shiba household the rangers returned from the gate and currently Mia, Emil, Mike and Kevin were in bed resting from their injuries. Ji and Antonio happened to be watching the four rangers from the doorway, looking on a bit worried. Antonio then turned his attention to the samurai mentor "Boy…They're pretty banged up with that run in with Arachnitor, huh?" "Yes…Now that the Sanzu River is seeping into our world, the nighlok are getting stronger…Soon they will be too powerful for even our team to stop." Ji began making his way to the living with Antonio following after. "It's crucial that you fill the Black Box with all the rangers' symbol powers." told the samurai mentor "Well once we rescue Jayden and Nariko…Jayden and I will get it running in no time." Antonio's reply made Ji stop in his tracks and turn around "Antonio you must focus the job at hand." "But Jayden and Nariko are out there!" "Jayden and Nariko will be the first ones to tell you the Black Box is the priority." the samurai mentor handed the gold ranger the black container holding the weapon to which Antonio took out, gazing at the small object "The original red ranger couldn't even finish this." Ji entered the living room while saying "Your lack of formal symbol power training will make this very difficult, but you did build your own samurai morpher." Antonio quickly followed after the mentor and took a seat at the table still having his focus on the Black Box "This is the ultimate hack job…My kind of challenge." "I have faith that your high tech skills will enable you to succeed when others have failed." "All right I'm on it…With the others down I know I have to pick up the slack."

Little did the two knew Kevin happened to overhear their conversation very clearly. Not liking how things were right now he threw the blankets off of him causing the others to look at the blue ranger who said "There's no time to rest! It's our sworn duty to keep the world safe!" Kevin got up from bed, gripping his side in pain while he stood "We're samurai! Nothing can stop us!" but as he took a step forward, Kevin immediately fell to his knees causing Mia to quickly get out of bed and help him up "Kevin!"

At the river Jayden was still following after Deker through the lake who couldn't help but scoff a bit "Heh…Rescuing you red ranger has become quite of a bad habit but one I intend to break." the half human, half nighlok then stopped and turned to Jayden handing Nariko over "Put your princess in the water and have her stay under. The water will purged the poison out of her system." "How do I know this is not a trap?" "Just do as I say…After all your princess has little time left so you better hurry…Besides I want you top form without having anything to distract you from our battle…So the sooner your princess recovers, the sooner I'll be able to battle and finally bring you down." Jayden glared at Deker then at his fiancé to find her heavily panting and occasionally groaning in pain. He gently called out to her "Nariko…" she slowly opened her eyes and tiredly look at him "Jay…Den…" "Love listen very closely…The water here is able to purge out the poison from your body, but I need you to stay under as long as you can. Will you be able to do that for me?" "I'll…Try Jayden…" With that the red ranger slowly put Nariko in the water, who held her breath and immediately went under.

Meanwhile in the Netherworld, Octoroo returned to find Master Xandred already finished with absorbing his new powers. Currently Master Xandred was staring out of the boat's window, feeling completely furious at Arachnitor's attempt to take his place but he easily took care of that with his new powers. While he stared out, Octoroo was trying to explain his actions to his master, not wanting to face the same fury that Arachnitor experienced "It was all a misunderstanding! I was trying to get rid of the red ranger and bring the Yamada princess to you! But I think you're thinking that I was thinking of betraying you! Oh ah oh…I hate all of this thinking…" "That's enough! You know better than to think for yourself! It gives us all a headache!" Master Xandred walked away from the window "What really upsets me is that we lost a chance to crush the red ranger and bring my princess to me! Next time see that you succeed or my vengeance will be swift!" the powerful nighlok quickly drew out his sword and rammed its blade right into one of the wooden buckets "Besides…There's another one we need to rid ourselves of, right Dayu?" the female nighlok who was quietly sitting on the floor the whole time, quietly gasp as Master Xandred approached her "I'm talking about that meddling Deker of course! Take him down." Octoroo went over to the two nighloks "Oh ah oh! Deker is too tough! He'll mash her into many little Dayu bits!" the female nighlok stood up while growling under her breath "Fine!" and stormed off of the boat to carry out Xandred's order, Octoroo looked back at his master "Oh ah oh! Your cruelty is boundless!" "Speaking of cruelty how's Arachnitor's punishment going." "He's about to transform, soon he'll be under your full control." Master Xandred went back over to the window and looked out to find Arachnitor on the shore, screaming out in pain from his powers making Xandred scoff "He wanted power now he has so much that it'll destroy him." he sheathed his sword and walked away from the sight "Keep an eye on him Octoroo, once he mutates send him straight to the human world so he can create misery!"

At the Shiba household Antonio is in the living room working on the Black Box by using his symbol power. Mentor Ji happened to be by his side watching carefully, soon Antonio stopped using his symbol power and turned to Ji "All right I hacked in, now I just have to format it to absorb our symbol powers." suddenly the gold ranger collapsed on to the sofa chair and immediately Ji went to his side "Antonio!" "I'm ok…" "You must pace yourself! Using symbol power is incredibly draining, don't overdue it!" "And who told me the whole world is at stake here?" Antonio quickly got back on his feet "I have to do all that I can." he pulled out his samurai morpher and began the process again "Let's try this again." "Just be careful Antonio…What you're trying to do is dangerous work, keep in mind if there's another nighlok attack you're the only ranger that's healthy enough to respond." told Ji

In the other room where the rangers were resting in, Kevin had overheard their conversation again and immediately sat up in bed. Mia who happened to be awake saw this and turned to the blue ranger "Kevin? What are you doing? You need to rest." "I have to find someway to help!" he began getting out of bed only to have the pink ranger stop him "No! You don't have to do this…Not alone…Let's help each other that's the best way we can help Jayden and Nariko." Mia got out of her bed and held her hand out to Kevin who accepted the help. Mike and Emily slowly made their way out of bed and together, the rangers went to change their clothes and prep for the coming of the nighlok attack.

Meanwhile at a seaside cave, Deker and Jayden were watching Nariko rest after having the lake water purge the poison out of her system. Currently the princess was resting in the red ranger's arms, though she tried moving a bit but her movements came out all weak and slow. "The purity of the lake has healed your princess, but she'll still be weak for awhile." told Deker, Nariko tried getting out of Jayden's arms but he stopped her from doing so "Nariko don't, you need rest." "But Jayden…" "I mean it, love." she tiredly groaned and turned her attention to Deker "Why are you doing all of this?" "Simply princess…I'm searching for the ultimate duel…The duel that your precious red ranger and I will have." Jayden tightened his hold on Nariko while staring at Deker "I don't fight just to fight, I fight to protect people and the one I love." "Well we'll see red ranger, we're patient my sword Uramasa and I but eventually we will battle, I have quite the incentive to convince you…After all I was once fully human, all I know now is…Constant craving for battle…The nighlok in me gives me no choice." "But you always have a choice, you don't have to give into the nighlok's cravings." "It's easy for you to say." "Doing the right thing…Is always worth the effort, no matter how hard it is. That's why I won't fight just to fight." "Red ranger you will give me the ultimate battle whether you like it or not! It's the only way I'll be free from this terrible curse!" little did the they knew, Dayu was in the cave also hiding behind a rock as she listened to their conversation. Once Deker had finished speaking, the female nighlok couldn't help but sadly sigh and hug herself "Oh Deker…If only you knew the truth…"

Back at the Shiba household Antonio was still hacking into the Black Box when he fell to his knees in exhaustion "There…Formatting is done…" Mentor Ji walked over to the weapon, gazing at it "Now comes the really dangerous part: Infusing the Black Box with everyone's symbol powers." "That's where we come in." the samurai mentor quickly turned and was surprised to find Kevin, Mia, Emily and Mike standing there "You shouldn't be out of bed!" "Antonio can't take on all of this by himself. We need to help each other! Especially since Jayden and Nariko are gone." told Kevin, then the Gap sensor went off having Antonio ask "So what do we do now?" "Well I know what Jayden would say." started Mia "At all costs protect the innocent!" finished Kevin, Antonio nodded "That's golden! You guys go take care of the nighlok while I'll go find Jayden and Nariko!" the gold ranger was started to make his leave until Mentor Ji stopped him in time "You must finish the Black Box first." "I can't I need their power disks first! And they're taking them into battle!" protested Antonio only to have Emily pull out her power disk and hand it to the gold ranger "Here…It's yours…" the others followed suit having Antonio look at them in disbelief "Are you guys serious? How can you defeat the nighlok without these?" "We'll make due, but without the Black Box the world is in danger, and you're the only one that can program it." told Emily, Kevin nodded in agreement "It's true…No one else can match the skills that you bring to the team." "But…My best friends need me!" again Antonio protested "I know what they would say to that too." said Mia "One person is insignificant, compared to the fate of the world." told Kevin having Mike scoff a bit "Dude you have that impression down." reluctantly Antonio nodded "Ok…Man I wish you guys weren't right but you are…This has to come first…" Noticing that the rangers were still standing there, Antonio smiled and shooed them away "Well go on, get out of here! I've got work to do and be careful!" the rangers smiled at their friend before running out of the household to deal with the nighlok attack.

Once the rangers had left Antonio began his work on putting disks' powers into the Black Box. Currently the gold ranger is working on Kevin's power disk, he groaned in frustration when it didn't work the first "Ah no!" Antonio then sighed and rolled his shoulders "All right I can do this!" he punched some buttons on his samurai morpher and began the process all over again, this time Antonio successfully transferred the power into the Black Box "That's it Dragon Zord! Yeah!" "So far so good Antonio." said Ji, the gold ranger pressed began pressing the buttons on his samurai morpher again "Now let's keep it going with a little yellow." he did the same process again but it soon failed making him sit down, sighing in frustration "I just don't have enough symbol energy to finish it fast enough!" the gold ranger soon sat there in silence for a moment then turned to the samurai mentor "I'm sorry Ji…It's just that the whole planet is counting on me…" soon realizing what he said, Antonio looked at his samurai morpher "Wait minute…The whole planet! That's it!" he began pressing the buttons on his morpher "I'll piggyback on a global satellite system and use my light symbol power to triangulate Jayden's samuraizer." soon his morpher beep causing the gold ranger to stand up "Golden! I've found them!" Antonio turned to Mentor Ji "Look…I can't finish the Black Box now but I can help Jayden and Nariko." Ji stared at the ranger for just a moment and said "Go!" not even hesitating for just a second Antonio quickly darted out of the household and to location where Jayden and Nariko are located at.

Back at the seaside cave Nariko was still in Jayden's arms resting who still had her in a protective hold. Then Deker grabbed his trusty sword: Uramasa and stood up from his spot "The princess should be fully recovered by now." seeing where this is going Jayden released his hold on his fiancé and stood up "Why do you want to fight me? There are plenty of good warriors in the world." "Yes but like me, you have a secret festering inside you. We're both warped, twisted." the red ranger took a step closer to his enemy "What do you mean?" "You'd sacrifice everything before giving Octoroo the sealing power, there's a spirit inside you that I never found in any other samurai…A warrior spirit…And that's why you're the perfect opponent." Suddenly Deker turned into his nighlok form and drew Uramasa out causing Jayden to summon out his spin sword. Nariko automatically stood up at this "Jayden!" "Stay right there Nariko! Do not get involved!" "But Jay…" Deker scoffed a bit "There's no need to worry red ranger. I have no intention on hurting your beloved princess. All I want is to duel you and I will have it, now go ahead the first move is yours!" but before anything could happen between the two warriors Antonio showed up just in time "Hold on! This isn't gonna happen on my watch!" Nariko ran over to the rangers and stood in front of them, staring at Deker head on "If you want a duel so badly then how about fighting me? I'll gladly give you a good fight." Antonio immediately grabbed her shoulder "Nariko are you nuts? By the looks of it you're in no shape to fight!" "Out of my way princess!" ordered Deker, Jayden came up behind Nariko and wrapped his arm around her stomach and glared at Deker "There's no way I'm fighting you not while Nariko is still recovering which is why you're letting us walk out of here." Deker was silent for about a moment before scoffing "Fine…Now go! But remember this red ranger the nest time we meet we will battle." once hearing his answer Antonio immediately grabbed his best friend's shoulder "Hey the nice creepy guy is letting us go Jayden! Let's go!" the gold ranger then pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it to the ground, in turn smoke began appearing and once it was gone Jayden, Nariko and Antonio were nowhere in sight. Deker soon sheathed his sword and began leaving the cave, not noticing that Dayu was watching his every move who couldn't help but sigh sadly "I'm sorry for what I've done to you Deker…"

Once escaping from the cave Antonio and Jayden went to help the others rangers with the nighlok attack while Nariko returned to Shiba household where Ji immediately took care of her. Not long after that the rangers returned safely after defeating all the Moogers along with Arachintor escaping. Out in the front yard Jayden was sitting upon the bench near the pond garden in deep thought about what Deker said to him. He was so in deep thought, Jayden failed to notice Nariko approaching him from behind until she gently put her hand on his shoulder "Jayden?" he jumped a bit at this and immediately turned to his fiancé "Oh Nariko…" "Is something wrong?" "No, why?" "Because you've been acting a bit different every since you and the others returned…Is it what Deker said to you back in the cave?" "How did you-?" "I kind of figured…Jay don't let what Deker said get to you." "I know it's just that…" "Hey…If you don't want to talk about it that's fine with me." Jayden smiled a bit and stood up, wrapping his arms around Nariko "You know that I love you right?" "Of course and I love you too Jayden." the red ranger then leaned down and kissed the Yamada princess who automatically returned it.

Though before the kiss could get passionate someone asked "Uh…Is this a bad time?" the couple immediately broke their kiss and looked to find the others standing there. "Oh…Uh…No, what's up?" asked Jayden "Um…Well…First we wanted to make sure you and Nariko are ok after all that you both been through." said Mia only to have Mike cut in "And we're gonna chow down on some pizza and figure out some new strategies for these new powerful nighlok." "Wanna join us?" asked Emily "Uh…No thanks guys we're fine. Why don't you go ahead without us?" suggested Jayden "Oh…Are you sure?" asked Mia only to have the red ranger nod as the others began making their way back into the household, Jayden looked back at his fiancé "Sorry about that Nariko…You can go join them if you want." "Hey that's all right besides that was your choice after all." "My choice…" "Jayden?" "You know what I change my mind, come on!" Nariko laughed a bit as she let Jayden lead her into the house to catch up with the others. "Hey guys we changed our minds, we'll join you!" told Nariko, her answer made them smile and they made their way into the living room, not before Antonio stopped his best friends "Hey I'm glad to have the two of you back." "Thanks…Might not have been back at all if it weren't for you Antonio." said Jayden "Well…I do have my golden moments." this made the red ranger playfully push his friend while Nariko jumped on the gold ranger's back who laughed and carried her into the living room with Jayden following behind.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Today at the Shiba Household currently four of the six rangers were out in the front yard practicing. While Kevin, Emily and Mike were striking practice dummies with their wooden swords, Jayden was practicing some sword techniques by himself. Nariko was also outside but sat off to the side, drawing in her sketch book. Jayden suddenly stopped in his practicing as he thought back to his conversation with Deker in the cave. Mike took notice of this and stopped in his practice to call out to his leader "Dude? Dude!" Jayden snapped out of his little daze and looked at Mike who said "You just suddenly stop…It was like you were a million miles away…You ok?" "It's nothing…" Kevin ceased in his practice and turned to the red ranger "I think the whole thing with Nariko being kidnapped by Deker has really gotten to you." the Yamada princess immediately looked up from her sketch book once hearing her name. Seeing the look on her fiancé's face caused Nariko to go over to his side "Jayden?" "You can talk to us Jayden…We're here for you." told Emily who approached the red ranger along with Mike and Kevin, though once stopping in front of Jayden, Mia had just come out of the household and greeted the group "Hey guys!" "Have you finally decided to join us for practice?" asked Kevin "Oh no, I've told Mentor that I'll be cooking dinner tonight." "Oh no!…Uh…I mean…What's the special occasion?" "Antonio has been working so hard to program the Black Box and I want to do something special for him…Hope you're hungry!" and with that Mia began making her leave in which Jayden began making his way back into the household with Nariko following after him "Jayden wait!" the three rangers simply just watch the couple leave their sights, Mike sighed "Bummer for Jayden…First Nariko gets poisoned by Octoroo and now this." Emily lightly hit the green ranger in the shoulder "Be nice!"

Meanwhile in the Netherworld, Dayu had returned after not once attacking Deker. Angered to hear this Master Xandred hit Dayu so hard making her fall onto the boat's floor "You failed me again! Dayu I ordered you to destroy Deker! But you dare return without attacking that dog! Why?" before Xandred could punish her more, Octoroo immediately came to her aid and stood in front of his master "Oh ah oh! Beating Deker isn't an easy thing to do! Maybe she wasn't up to it!" the squid like nighlok then turned to the female nighlok "Dayu tell the big guy you're sorry!"" No! If you're angry with me then destroy me!" "What did you say?" growled Xandred, Dayu scoffed and looked the other way "You'd never understand ever since I gave my spirit up to evil I've experienced nothing but sorrow! Century after century of constant heartache!" "Oh really?" Xandred then grabbed Dayu's instrument out of her hands "Then I guess you don't need this harmonian!" once it was in his hand, Xandred set fire to the instrument and threw it right behind him. Dayu quickly got up and picked up her ruined instrument "No! My Harmonium! You ruined it!" thus she began to cry at the sight of her destroyed instrument, Xandred then made his way over to Dayu "You chose to trade your spirit to darkness! That deal cannot be undone. It's time for you to forget your pathetic past!" "How could you do this to me? I knew you were evil but this? Oh I must get it fixed!" Dayu immediately stood up and dashed away with Octoroo calling after her "Oh ah oh! Come back Dayu!" "Huh! She won't get far…Summon Rhinosnorus!" barked Xandred, Octoroo turned to his master "Him? Oh…What are you going to do?"

Back in the human world Nariko was taking a stroll through the city after having no luck with talking to Jayden. "There are times that I wish Jayden would come talk to me about his problems…I hate it when he shuts me out like this…" thought Nariko, just as she was rounding a corner people ran pass her screaming "Huh? What's going on?" "Your musical essence is just what I need to repair my instrument!" Nariko looked once hearing the voice to find Dayu standing over a musician laying upon the ground. She quickly ran over and kicked Dayu away from the musician just before the female nighlok could grab him "Oh no you don't!" Dayu took a few steps back before glaring at Nariko "Well…If it isn't the little Yamada princess…I didn't expect to run into you at all, now move out of my way!" "I won't let you harm him!" "This has nothing to do with you!" "Well it does now!" Dayu growled and charged at Nariko attacking her with her instrument only to be stopped by Mia and her spin sword "Oh no you don't Dayu!" "Great just what I need a samurai ranger!" the female nighlok then kicked the pink ranger away along with Nariko and grabbed the musician by the arm "Don't you two dare interfere!" "You're not going anywhere with him!" declared Mia who charged at Dayu with her spin sword, Nariko was about to join until she heard screaming. The princess including Dayu and Mia looked to find fog filling the area and people collapsing right where they are. Then an elephant like nighlok approached the girls, passing over the collapsed bodies "Sleep tight! Don't let the bed bugs bite!" "Rhinosnorus? What are you doing here?" demanded Dayu "The Boss sent me! It's naptime for you!"

The elephant nighlok then blew some fog from his snout like hand towards Dayu who immediately pulled the musician in front of her. The fog hit the musician and in turn he immediately collapse to the ground unconscious. "This is Master Xandred's wake up call! I'm not coming back!" told Dayu, soon Jayden appeared and attack Rhinosnorus sending the nighlok to the ground. The red ranger safely landed right next to Nariko as the other rangers showed up. Jayden then turned to his fiancé "Nariko are you all right?" "Yes I'm fine…" Rhinosnorus immediately got back up on his feet "Rangers! I'm working here!" Jayden quickly pushed Nariko back behind him and the rangers who charged at the nighlok with their swords drawn. From the corner of her eye, the Yamada princess saw Dayu picked up the unconscious musician and began carrying him away. "Dayu stop!" exclaimed Nariko who began chasing after the female nighlok only to stop as Rhinosnorus appeared right in front of her "Nighty night!" he blew some fog towards the princess and to her luck Jayden quickly tackled her out of the way. The couple quickly got back up on their feet and the red ranger turned to his fiancé "Nariko…" "No need to worry Jayden…I'm all right…" "I want you to stay by my side, you don't have to worry about Dayu, Mia and Emily already went after her." "Ok…" soon Mike and Kevin joined the couple's side while Rhinosnorus stood a few feet away from them "Time to turn out the light!" "Not so fast horn nose!" the nighlok was then attacked by some fish and Antonio joined the rangers' side. Jayden looked at his friend a bit surprised "Antonio!" the gold ranger cockily grinned at him "Leave it to me!" Nariko soon noticed Rhinosnorus raise his snout towards the gold ranger and went to him "Wait Antonio!" to their dismay both she and Antonio were hit by the fog and collapsed right on the spot. Jayden immediately caught his fiancé "Nariko!" Kevin face palmed his helmet as he saw the unconscious gold ranger "Oh no!" Mike looked down upon his fellow ranger "Hey buddy not exactly a good time to take a nap!" "And they won't wake up until I say so! Yum! The more they dream, the tastier the snacks they'll be!" Jayden glared at Rainstorms "Nighlok! Do you really think we're going to stand here and let that happen?" "Of course not! I gulp down my grub in the dream world but I'm going to let them marinate for awhile first things first…I need to go and catch Dayu!"

Suddenly a purple portal appeared right over Antonio's chest to which Rhinosnorus made his escape through. "An inter dimensional portal! I better call Ji and see just what we're up against." said Jayden who pulled out his samuraizer and contacted the samurai mentor. Once explaining what's going on Ji had looked up the current nighlok in a book "Jayden that nighlok is Rhinosnorus. He puts his victims to sleep and enters into their dreams, his victims then experience vivid fantasies usually happy ones. Once devoured his victims never wake up in the real world again who knows how long until Rhinosnorus starts eating his victims…Jayden you must locate and destroy him fast." "We're on it Ji." the red ranger then hung up and put his samuraizer away before powering down. Mike and Kevin who were already powered down went over to their leader. "So what's up?" asked Mike "We have to enter the dream world." told Jayden "So we have to find a way into the dream world?" "How do we do that?" asked Kevin, Jayden gently laid Nariko on the ground "I'll use my symbol power…I'm not sure just how much energy it will take but I can do it." "I hope you're right…" said Mike, the red ranger caressed his fiancé's cheek before standing up with his samuraizer in hand "I doubt I'll be able to keep the portal open very long…Jump in as soon as it materializes, I'll be right behind you!" Kevin nodded at this "Got it!" Mike then looked at his friends' unconscious bodies "Hold on Antonio, Nariko help is on the way!" Jayden quickly put his symbol powers into action and right over Nariko's chest a portal appeared. "Go now!" exclaimed the red ranger, both Mike and Kevin immediately jumped through the portal which closed behind them. Jayden fell to his knees in exhaustion and began panting a bit before looking at Antonio's and Nariko's unconscious forms.

Inside the dream world Kevin and Mike safely made it through, the green ranger smiled as he looked at himself "Cool we made it!" the two then looked around to see several people dressed in different types of clothing, happily enjoying themselves. "This is the dream world? It seems…Pretty normal." admitted Kevin "Yeah…Normal…" said Mike, the two rangers then began walking around a bi until they spotted Antonio in a suit holding a big trophy "Check this out! I did it! World's biggest fish of the year!" Kevin quickly approached the fisherman "Antonio! You're just dreaming!" "Dude this isn't real!" added Mike. Antonio quickly went over to the two "What are you doing? This is my golden moment!" "You're in a nighlok's dream world! Nothing is real!" told Kevin "Tell that to my trophy!" the blue ranger then began trying to take away Antonio's trophy who was stubbornly holding onto it. "Guys stop!" said Mike who then heard someone humming. He turned around to find Nariko dressed in a traditional royal kimono tending to some flowers. The green ranger quickly made his way over to her "Nariko!" the princess looked up at the call of her name and smiled once seeing who it was "Oh Mike hello!" "Nariko listen you're in danger right now!" "What are you talking about? I'm in no danger, all is peaceful here." "No Nariko you're wrong! You're in a dream right now!" "Oh you're being silly right now Mike! Now if you'll excuse me I think my wedding is about to begin soon." "Mmm! Tasty you'll make one heck of a lunch!" both Nariko and Mike turned around to find Rhinosnorus standing there. "Kevin! Get over here man!" exclaimed Mike, the blue ranger stopped his struggling with Antonio and once seeing the nighlok he joined his friend's side, protectively standing in front of Nariko. The two then pulled out their samuraizers and morphed into their rangers forms, ready to fight the dream nighlok. "What rangers? How did you get into my dream world? I didn't put you to sleep!" growled Rhinosnorus "We're crashing your slumber party!" told Mike, Kevin nodded "That's right! We're going to give you a dose of reality!" Rhinosnorus scoffed "In your dreams!" the blue ranger looked back at the Yamada princess "You stay here Nariko, Mike and I will take care of this nighlok!" "But-!" to her dismay the two rangers had already began charging at Rhinosnorus soon engaging in battle.

While Nariko watched the battle a few feet away Rhinosnorus was starting to get frustrated with the two rangers "Guess what rangers? You're on my turf now and here we play by my rules!" then the nighlok used his powers on Mike and Kevin which sent the two falling to the ground. Nariko gasp and quickly went over to their sides "Mike, Kevin! Are you two ok?" "N-No…Ah my butt!" complained Mike, Rhinosnorus slowly approached the three while chuckling "Ha, ha, ha! In this world I always win I can do anything I can dream up! You could say I'm on a roll!" Rhinosnorus stopped and summoned a huge boulder that began heading towards Nariko, Mike and Kevin. The two rangers quickly pushed the Yamada princess out of harms way and began running from the boulder. Mike soon stopped his running once realizing something making Kevin stop also "Mike what are you doing?" "Kevin this is our dream world too right? Well I've got a plan!" suddenly Mike grew really big and kicked the boulder along with Kevin who landed right on top of Rhinosnorus. "Ok…This is really a dream because I just witness a sort of cartoon moment there…" muttered Nariko who soon joined up with the guys, Mike returned to his normal size and stood over the nighlok "Now that I'm getting the hang of this dream world I'm getting a kick out of it!" "What a snooze! I'm out of here!" Rhinosnorus quickly got back on his feet and began running away with Kevin and Mike following.

Soon the three had left the dream world and back into reality where Kevin and Mike successfully destroyed Rhinosnorus' mist blower. In turn all the people that the nighlok put to sleep began waking up. Back with Nariko and Antonio, the two woke up from their slumber and slowly sat up. While the Yamada princess began looking around at her surroundings, Antonio began frantically looking around him "Where's my trophy?" "Nariko…Antonio…" the two looked behind them to find a tired looking Jayden sitting there. Nariko immediately went over to her fiancé's side "Jayden!" Antonio also went over to his friend's side "Jayden what happened?" "Both you and Nariko were trapped in the dream world. Kevin and Mike went in to save the two of you." "Oh yeah…They were there…Come on let's get you up and away from this place." both he and Nariko helped the red ranger up, putting his arms over their necks and leading him away, not at all knowing that they were being watched by Octoroo through a gap "Oh ah oh! Red ranger now I got you! This is the perfect time to put an end to your sealing power for good!" Nariko, Antonio and Jayden soon stopped in their tracks once hearing something. They quickly turned around to find giant Moogers appearing from the gaps. "Uh oh…We've got bad company." said Antonio, Jayden took a step away from him and Nariko "We need to go into megazord mode!" "But you're exhausted Jayden!" protested Nariko "What other choice do we have love?" Antonio took out his samurai morpher "All right buddy let's do this together! Just like when we were kids playing in your backyard, the two of us against the baddies." "Please you two…Don't do anything too rash out there." pleaded Nariko "We promise love." said Jayden, she then took a step back to let her fiancé and Antonio morph. She soon watched at how easily the two rangers took down the giant Moogers with the Clawzord and Lion folding zord without taking much damage. 10 minutes later Nariko met up with Jayden and Antonio who were resting right outside a warehouse. "Oh thank goodness I've found you two! Both of you did good out there." said the Yamada princess, Jayden nodded in agreement and tiredly looked at Antonio "Yeah…Good job out there…Just like old times…Are you ok?" "Every muscle hurts…" Nariko laughed a bit at this and patted the gold ranger's back before hugging Jayden who automatically returned the embrace. Suddenly Nariko spotted the garage door the warehouse beginning to open. As it fully opened she gasp once seeing Deker standing there his sword in hand. Both Antonio and Jayden looked soon glaring at Deker "Oh no…Not him again…" thought Nariko, the red ranger then let go of her and stood up to face Deker. Both Antonio and Nariko quickly stood by his side ready to protect the red ranger. "Jayden what are you doing?" asked Antonio, Nariko looked at Deker and demanded "Why do you want to fight him now? Why?" she then tightly held Jayden's hand as the three watch Deker unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards the red ranger obviously ready for the upcoming battle.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Why now? He's too exhausted!" told Antonio, he and Nariko quickly held Jayden up just as he began to stagger a bit due to his exhaustion. Suddenly Moogers appeared from out of nowhere and had gathered right behind Deker who kept his eyes trained on the three but mostly Jayden "Master Xandred and his noodle face crony Octoroo have seen to it that we are interrupted yet again…" some Mooger soon charged at Jayden, Nariko and Antonio only to be stopped by Deker who transformed into his nighlok form "No one touch the red ranger he's mine!" the three watched as the nighlok take down all the Moogers with no difficulty at all. "He's relentless!" said Nariko "Jayden you're not even a challenge for him!" said Antonio, Jayden said nothing but continued to stare down Deker who now returned to his human form "All right red ranger…Our time to duel has come." both Nariko and Antonio immediately stood in front of Jayden, determine to protect him. "No not now! We just finished a battle, besides we rangers don't fight for the sake of fighting!" told Antonio, Deker sheathed his sword "Red ranger…I'll give you 24 hours but there will be no further delay…Tomorrow metal will meet metal." "Didn't you hear Antonio? I won't fight for fighting sake…I only fight to protect the innocent." "Well then if you won't show…" suddenly in the blink of an eye Deker stood right before the three and knocked the two rangers away then turning to Nariko. She quickly got into a fighting stance and began fighting Deker who easily blocked her attacks. He then grabbed the princess by the throat and punched her in the gut hard. Nariko cried out in pain before blacking out from the impact. Once seeing that she was unconscious Deker threw the princess over his shoulder. Ultimately Jayden witness this and got back on his feet "Nariko!" but as he took a step forward the red ranger's legs gave out only to be caught by Antonio "Jayden!" "Listen to me very carefully red ranger…Disappoint me tomorrow and I may not be able to hold my nighlok side back much longer…I could possibly attack the nearest person…" "Don't you dare lay a hand her! You're not half human, you're a true nighlok!" growled Jayden "Call me what you want but no one will be safe and the princess' pain will be your fault not mine." "Then you leave me no choice, I will fight and I will defeat you!" "Noon…Tomorrow by the sea…" and with that said Deker took his leave along with taking Nariko's unconscious form.

Later that day back at the Shiba household, Mia and Emily returned with Kevin and Mike after both Dayu and Rhinosnorus made their escape in the forest. Currently Mia was in the kitchen fixing some hot tea for Emily, still feeling guilty for getting the yellow ranger hurt by Dayu. While the pink ranger poured some tea in a cup, Emily appeared at the doorway and greeted "Hey Mia…" "I was just going to bring some tea for you." "Thank you but you need to stop fussing over me I'm almost as good as new." "It's just that…When it was time to fight Dayu…I hesitated…And then you got hurt…" "I understand…Seeing Dayu's past in that dream world…It must have been hard on you." "That's the problem…I can't afford to let my feelings get in the way of our mission anymore." "You're really being too hard on yourself." soon Mike entered the kitchen looking very serious "Guys…We're all meeting in the living room…It's important." and with that the girls and Mike made their way to the living room where Jayden informed his team on what happened earlier today.

"Jayden…It's crazy to do this! Take on Deker and do it alone?" questioned Kevin "Deker insists that's how it has to be." told Antonio "You can't do this! A samurai only fights battles when it's necessary!" "This is necessary, if I don't go Deker threatened to hurt Nariko!" said Jayden "Ok fine! We'll handle him just like any other nighlok, as a team!" told Kevin, the red ranger stood up from his seat "Kevin you don't get it! If I'm not alone it won't satisfy him!" "Since when do we let a nighlok dictate how we battle?" everyone remained silent at this until Mia broke it "I know now that Deker won't stop until Jayden duels him…We have to let him go." "Mia…How could you say that? Jayden isn't just our leader, he's also the only one who has the sealing power…" told Kevin who focused his attention back on his leader "Jayden you're the key to stopping the nighlok." Mike nodded in agreement "Kev is right…We shouldn't risk it…" not wanting to hear anymore of this Jayden stormed off "This discussion is over!"

That night in the household Jayden was in the practice dojo training for the upcoming battle with Deker. As he ceased his practice with the wooden sword for a bit, Kevin decided to show up at this time "Jayden…How can I talk you out of this?" "You can't…But…You can help me get ready I've got some special moves I want to practice…" the red ranger then turned to his fellow blue ranger "Kevin…You know how much Nariko means to me…I just can't take the risk of her getting hurt or worst…Losing her because of Deker…I can't stand the thought of that…" "And I understand that…Which is why I will help you practice your special moves." "Thank you so much Kevin…" the blue ranger smiled a bit "Hey…Anything for you…" he then went over and grabbed another wooden sword from the weapons rack and began helping Jayden in his practice. While the two practiced meanwhile in the kitchen the other rangers were sitting at the table while Ji was serving them tea to calm their nerves. "Why are we so worried? Jayden can beat anyone…He'll be fine…" said Antonio "Yeah…I'm sure he will." said Emily, Mike nodded "Yeah…" "All I know is that Deker needs to be dealt with…And hesitating will be a mistake." said Mia "I'm afraid Mia is right…There is no other choice but to fight Deker…We just have to have faith that Jayden is prepared for this battle." told Ji and all the rangers could do was nod in agreement.

The next day it was slowly getting close to noon and Jayden made his way out of the household. There in the front were the other rangers, they all looked at their leader as he emerged from the household. "Good luck Jayden." said Emily "You can do this bro." told Mike as the red ranger made his way over to his team, Antonio placed his hand on Jayden's shoulder "You're the best…I've known that since we were kids and it's no different from today." "Do what needs to be done." told Mia, Jayden just gave a simple nod before standing in front of Kevin. Before either of the two could say anything the gap sensor went off. Everyone looked at the blinking sensor "Nighlok attack! Jayden what do we do?" said Kevin, Ji came running out of the household "Rhinosnorus is back!" not wasting anytime at all Jayden pulled out his power disk along with the beetle power disk handing it to Kevin "Here…" "I don't understand…" "With these disks you can form the megazord without me…I need you to lead the team until I get back…I know you can do this…" Kevin hesitated for what seemed like a long time but he soon took the disks from Jayden "It'll be an honor…I won't let you down Jayden!" the blue ranger then looked at the others "Come on rangers! Let's go stop that nighlok!" and with that said the group of rangers left the household. Jayden looked back at Ji who nodded, thus the red ranger took his leave to meet up with Deker for their duel.

15 minutes passed and soon Jayden reached the coast where upon his approach spotted Deker with a tied up Nariko sitting by his side. The red ranger stopped a few feet away from the two while Deker scoffed a bit "Took you long enough…Still I knew you would come…Just like me, you need this battle." "No…I'm nothing like you…The only thing I need is to stop you from hurting Nariko or anyone else!" "All that matters is that you're here." Deker then grabbed Nariko by the elbow and pulled her up to stand, he then cut the ropes that bind her and pushed her towards the red ranger "Here…Since you're already here, you can have your precious princess back." Jayden immediately went to his fiancé and pulled her in to an embrace, holding her tightly "Nariko." "Jayden." "I'm so glad that you're ok." she broke the embrace and looked at her red ranger "Jayden…Please don't go through with this…" "I have to love…If I don't Deker will end up hurting you in order to get me to fight him and I really don't want that to happen." "But Jayden…" "Do you trust me?" "Wha-" "Do you trust me?" "I do…With all my heart…" "Then let me battle Deker." "All right…But please…Be careful and be safe for me." Jayden then pulled her into a passionate kiss, one that Nariko immediately returned. Wanting it to last longer to her dismay, the red ranger pulled away and put her behind him. Jayden then morphed into his ranger form and took out his spin sword. Nariko soon took a few steps back and watched as the battle between Deker and Jayden had finally begun.

As the two swordsmen took their fighting stance Jayden said "It's not too late Deker…We don't have to do this!" "You still don't understand…I have to fight until the glorious end." "Then you leave me no choice!" and with that the two began attacking each other. Each blocking the other's blow, Nariko watched on in worry and thought "Not once has Jayden land a blow on Deker…They're both equally matched in skill…But I know Jayden will find out a way to defeat Deker…I just hope he'll be able to do it without getting hurt…" she continued to watch the duel that soon led into the sea water, the princess gasp as she witness Deker trip Jayden who fell into the water. The red ranger quickly rolled out of the way just as the nighlok warrior stab the spot where he once laid. Jayden quickly got back on his feet and blocked more of Deker's attack but soon got a light hit. "Excellent your instincts are superb…You are indeed proven to be my equal, I was right to chose you red ranger." told Deker who then charged at Jayden who did the same. He dodged more of Deker's attacks but the nighlok's sword grazed the red ranger's helmet.

Nariko took a step forward, about to go over to her fiancé who stopped her "Don't Nariko!" "But Jayden!" "I'm fine! Just stay where you are!" reluctantly Nariko did what she was told and continued watching the duel between Jayden and Deker. The fight then led to a cliff and ultimately the Yamada princess followed the two swordsmen. Her heart clenched painfully as she witness Jayden receiving two more blows from Deker. "I've waited for this ultimate duel for so long and you have not disappointed me!" told the nighlok warrior, Jayden who was now panting looked at the warrior "Haven't you had enough?" the red ranger then headed towards the edge of the cliff with Deker following. Nariko watch in wonder and in fear, thinking "Just what is Jayden trying to do? Corner himself and have Deker take him down?" her heart raced quickly as she watched Jayden take another blow from Deker leading him to be at the very edge of the cliff. "You are truly a worthy opponent but now I shall defeat you and bring this to the very end!" said Deker "You're right about one thing…It's time for this to end!" said Jayden who raised his spin sword to strike. Though it was Deker who landed a serious blow to the red ranger "No Jayden!" exclaimed Nariko, the red ranger dropped his sword only to grab it with his other hand and strike Deker. The attack caught Deker completely off guard "W-What?" Jayden went in for another strike and the nighlok warrior tried to block it. To Deker's surprise his sword broke in two and he took the full hit of Jayden's attack. Soon the nighlok warrior began staggering towards the edge of the cliff "A master move…You let me wound you…So you can get close enough to finish me…Well fought red ranger…You have honored me…You have freed me from my torment…Thank you…" and with that Deker fell off the cliff, disappearing in a cloud of black smoke.

Once Deker was finally gone, Jayden fell to his knees in exhaustion and powered down. Nariko quickly ran over to her fiancé's side "Jayden!" once reaching him, she dropped to her knees and pulled his tired body to hers. Jayden tiredly laid his head on Nariko's chest who cupped his cheek and began stroking it. "Oh thank god you're all right! Do you know how scared I was just watching you fight with Deker and those blows you end up receiving? For a moment there I thought I was going to lose you!" cried Nariko "I know…And I'm sorry for making you feel that way…Forgive me?" Jayden tiredly said, tears appeared in Nariko's eyes and she began to stroke his cheek more "Of course I forgive you, idiot…I will always forgive you…" Jayden smiled a bit and closed his eyes while Nariko kissed his forehead and held him tightly, sobbing a bit in relief. "Jayden, Nariko!" the princess looked along with the red ranger who had slowly opened his eyes to see the Kevin, Mia, Emily, Mike and Antonio running towards them. Once reaching the couple Kevin quickly asked "Jayden…Are you all right?" "Yeah…" seeing that the nighlok warrior was nowhere in sight Mia asked "And Deker? Is he?" "Gone…" answered Nariko as she said that the others relaxed and sighed in relief. "Come on…Let get you home Jayden." said Kevin, the red ranger simply nodded and began to get up with the help of Nariko and the others who then lead the injured red ranger away.

Later back at the Shiba household, outside in the courtyard Jayden was having a meeting with Kevin and Mike. "Kevin…Thank you for leading the team when I couldn't." said the red ranger "It was an honor…But…It's not my job…" "There could only be one red ranger." said Mike, Jayden smiled a bit and chuckled though he smiled even more as he saw Nariko making her way over. The red ranger then looked at his friends "Uh…Could you guys give us a few minutes?" Kevin patted his leader's back "Of course, come on Mike." and the two rangers went inside the household leaving the couple alone. Jayden held his hand out to his fiancé "There's my girl." Nariko smiled a bit and grabbed his hand, letting the red ranger pull her closer to him "How are you feeling Jay?" "Better…Gonna be sore for the next few days though and Ji wants my arm in this sling too." "That's good to hear…" Jayden then noticed a tear running down Nariko's face and gently cupped her cheek with his good hand "Hey now…What's with the tears?" "I-I'm sorry…I guess I'm still shaken up from your duel with Deker…" "Nariko…There's no need to cry…" "I-I know…" "And know that I'll never leave you…I love you so much Nariko…" "I love you too Jayden." the red ranger lean down and captured his fiancé's lips in a sweet, passionate kiss. The two slowly pulled away and stared in each other's eyes, Nariko smiled and wrapped her arms around Jayden gently hugging him who returned the embrace. "So sorry to interrupt your lovebird moment but…" the couple looked to find Antonio standing there with a tray in hand. He pulled off the lid to reveal a well cooked fish "Dinner is served!" "That fish looks wonderful Antonio!" said Nariko "Hey when I serve a fish to my friends it's gotta be the best! That's gold standard!" soon everyone had gathered outside and around the table to eat the meal Antonio prepared for them. Before they could dig into their meal Jayden said to them "Everyone…I just wanted to say that I'm sorry…I know I had to duel Deker to stop him from hurting Nariko or anyone else but…I also think something in me wanted to fight him…To prove that I was worthy to be the red ranger." Nariko grabbed the red ranger's hand squeezing it "No Jayden…He forced your hand, you did what you had to do…" "Maybe…But there's still much to do but I promise to not jeopardize our mission again." "Deker is gone but Master Xandred is still out there…And until he is defeated…No one is safe." told Kevin "As rangers it's our responsibility to save the world from the nighlok I'm just grateful we don't have to do it alone." admitted Jayden, everyone smiled at this and cheered "Rangers together, samurai forever!"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

For now we pause in the samurai rangers' journey and turn back the hands of time. The time where their whole journey began and how they came to be the samurai power rangers.

All was quiet and peaceful in a normal bustling city where the civilians are enjoying their lives. Currently in a local park, a young boy was playing hide and seek with some friends of his. The boy of course is the seeker and once he finished counting, the child went out to seek his friends. He soon came to an empty alley way, hoping to find his friends. Not able to see any of them, the boy called out "Brian, Jimmy! Where are you?"

The young child soon approached some stacked crates and looked through the gap, not knowing the dangers lurking within it. Suddenly the gap began glowing dark red and moogers jumped out, making the boy fall back in fear. The creatures quickly surrounded the human looking to harm him until from out of nowhere a little red lion figure appeared and attacked the moogers.

As the evil moogers were down, Nariko arrived and darted over to the boy making him quickly stand on his feet "Run! Get away from here!" the young child nodded and ran off, Nariko smiled in relief as she watched the boy escape. She soon dodged an attack from a mooger and flipped backwards away from the creatures as they began getting up.

Nariko was soon joined by Jayden who protectively stood in front of her, with his lion zord and samuraizer in hand. Ji arrived too and threw a smoke bomb in front of the moogers letting Jayden morph easily.

"Look before you moogers! This is the eighteenth leader of the samurai power rangers! Descendant of the man who destroyed your master years ago…You have two choices…Retreat now or become rust on his blade." Told Ji

"Don't bother…I don't want them to retreat I want to take them for a spin." Said Jayden, he prepared his spin sword and slowly drew it.

The moogers not wasting anytime charged the red ranger who easily dodged their attacks. Jayden did not hesitate in ridding the evil creatures and soon all were destroyed, letting peace resume for now. Jayden then powered down and walk back over to Ji and Nariko who patiently waited for him.

"I'm so proud that the boy I devoted my life to train, has grown to be a master samurai and is ready to lead others into battle." Said Ji

"I agree…I can see why my Father chose Jayden to be my fiancé and not any other man." Said Nariko

Jayden smiled a bit and held out his hand to Nariko who grabbed it and let him pull her over to his side. The red ranger gave a light squeeze to Nariko's hand and focuses his attention on Ji "But I'm used to fighting them all alone. I don't want anyone else in danger."

Nariko looked at her fiancé "Jayden…The nighlok attacks are escalating…More and more of them are coming across to do their evil."

"Sure and if any more moogers to pay us a visit, they'll be having a taste of my spin sword." Told Jayden who began walking away, bringing Nariko along with him.

"Jayden…Do not underestimate the power of Master Xandred if he awakens. After all the illness he placed on Nariko when she was just an infant is beginning to slowly take its toll on her…His nighlok legions are too much for one person…Even one as strong as you…Teams of samurai have battled this evil for centuries with the Yamada clan giving aid, training and guidance." Said Ji

This happens to make Jayden stop in his tracks and think for a moment before turning to Ji "I'm really supposed to lead a team?" "It's what you're training prepared you for. There are four others who have trained for these dark days and they await the call to join you and to fight as samurai rangers!" the red ranger just gave a small nod and continued his leave with Nariko by his side and Ji following after "I understand…I'll do whatever it takes."

Little did they know the three of were being watched through the gap, by the loyal Octoroo who chuckled evilly "Hehehe…So will I!" a cracking noise soon caught his attention and the nighlok looked towards the Sanzu River "Oh ah ooh…What was that?" he began approaching the water "Oh ah ooh! I've got a lump in my throat, is what I hear the Master's boat?"

Out from the depths of the river water emerged a bone like boat, one that Octoroo quickly climbed onboard. There inside sat a female nighlok by the name of Dayu who happened to be playing her Harmonia. Octoroo sighed a bit in relief "Oh…It's good to be onboard again! So Dayu…Where's the big red one?"

She remained silent and continued playing her instrument which greatly annoyed Octoroo "Come on out with it! Just where is that barnacle of a boss? Out with it! Where is Master Xandred?" not at all fazed by his little outburst Dayu calmly said "Octoroo I get it…You missed him." "Come on! Tell me, tell me please! You're the only one who knows! We've been without our leader for so long! We need him back, sure he's mean to me but that's just boss being boss!"

Just then Master Xandred himself stepped out from another room with his sword in hand "Shut up you fool! I have a splitting headache this morning so zip those lips! Unless you want to spend the rest of your life untying those noodles you call a face!" "Oh! You're pretty grumpy for someone talented enough to talk with his mouth close!" said Octoroo, he then tapped his staff on the floor and looked at two moogers "You two there! Quickly give him his medicine to ease his necking noggin."

Once given his medicine Master Xandred began gulping it down quick, Octoroo watched as he did so "That should help, you'll be back to normal in no time. Feel better?" "Ugh! I don't want to even think on what I had to endure because of those lousy samurai rangers. Good thing I destroyed them all."

Octoroo immediately turned away at his master's statement "Oh Master Xandred…How should I say this…I thought you knew about the rangers…They survived…" Dayu immediately ceased her playing and looked to Octoroo, saying in disbelief "Are you joking?" greatly angered by this Master Xandred stood to his feet "What? Those brats defeated me?"Octoroo held up his hands and tried to calm down his master "Oh ah ooh! Please calm down Master!"

At this time a nighlok by the name of Tooya came onto the boat "Yeah man! Let's get this party started! I see that Master Xandred is back in charge! So let's celebrate!" still angered by the thought of the samurai rangers surviving, Xandred slammed his sword hard on the floor making the boat violently rock back and forth "Unbelievable! How did those brats defeat me?" once the boat had ceased its rocking, Octoroo turned to Tooya "Forget celebrating Tooya, that mouth on your skirt is as ugly as Master Xandred's moods!" "Hey if anybody here got hit with the ugly stick it would be you!" "Listen…The best way to welcome the boss back is to jump through a gap and freak out some humans."

Tooya looked to his nighlok master in wonder "Is that right Boss?" Master Xandred stood there in silent for a bit then looked to Octoroo "If I remember correctly…The Yamada clan's dear princess...Does she still have that illness I casted upon her years ago?" "Why yes! And it so happens it's slowly taking effect on her." "I see…Go now Tooya and then I'll make those samurai rangers regret the day they messed with Master Xandred!"

Back in the human world, the four other samurai rangers; Kevin, Mia, Emily and Mike were going about their daily life, patiently waiting for their call. Currently at the Shiba Household Jayden and Nariko were sitting outside together, holding hands. The couple was just enjoying the peaceful time that they had right now when Ji briskly walked over to them with a bow and arrows in hand.

"Jayden, Nariko! I think Master Xandred has finally awaken, a new breed of nighlok more powerful than any other moogers has immobilized. You cannot wait any longer! The time has come to summon your time of samurai rangers." Told Ji

As the couple quickly stood up on their feet, Jayden couldn't help but ask "Are you sure I'm ready lead?" Nariko turned to him, placing her hand on her fiancé's arm "Jayden, one samurai is strong but a team is unbeatable…Just remember your Father's words when he and my father left for the final battle…" and he did which brought a small smile to his face. Jayden grabbed Nariko's hand placing a kiss on it "You're right…Thank you Nariko I'll never forget his last words…I must not fail! I am the red samurai ranger!"

"The other rangers have spent their whole lives preparing to fulfill their samurai destinies. Fulfill your destiny to lead them!" advised Ji

The samurai mentor then handed Nariko the bow and arrow, she quickly prepped the bow and armed it with a green arrow. Aiming the bow towards the sky, Nariko shot the arrow which immediately disappeared. She did this three more times before following after Ji and Jayden into the household. There Ji opened a secret panel, revealing four more samuraizers "I've been saving these until you were ready Jayden, take them your fellow samurai are on their way." Jayden nodded and grabbed the devices before going outside with Nariko and Ji following.

The Yamada princess handed the red ranger a bag to which he placed the samuraizers in. He then pulled out his and wrote a symbol in the air "Symbol power: Horse!" right there in front of them a white steed appeared, as Jayden climbed on Ji placed his hand on Nariko's shoulder "I want you to go with Jayden, Nariko." "Are you sure?" "Yes just to make sure everything goes well, but please do be careful." "I will." Nariko went over to Jayden who pulled her onto the horse having his fiancé sit behind him.

"Never forget the mission of the samurai rangers, be brave, work together and no matter what don't ever give up!" told Ji, the red ranger nodded at this and galloped off towards the city.

Meanwhile inside the city as Tooya and the moogers were causing havoc, Kevin was making his way towards the commotion when spotted a vehicle bearing the samurai ranger symbol "The ranger symbol!" he quickly went over to the vehicle making it stop before standing right outside the passenger door "I'm Kevin and I'm here with you!" the window to the vehicle rolled down to reveal Mia inside.

Surprised to see her Kevin quickly zipped up his jacket, after having to leave his swim meet. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know the red ranger was a girl!" apologized Kevin, Mia stepped out of the car "I'm not the red ranger…I'm the pink, my name is Mia." Soon Emily showed up and ran over to the two. Once standing in front of them, she eagerly looked at Kevin "Are you the red ranger?" "No…I'm the blue." "Oh…" lastly Mike showed up and casually strolled up to his fellow rangers "You guys must be my peeps."

"You're the red ranger?" wondered Kevin, Mike scoffed at this and shook his head "No! I'm mighty green!" before he could say more, all four of them heard a horse whinny.

They looked to find Jayden and Nariko approaching them a white steed. The group looked at them in amazement as Jayden helped Nariko down from the horse. "With an entrance like that you must be the red ranger." Said Mike towards Jayden who nodded "Yes I am the red ranger." As the couple approached and stood in front of the group, Kevin said "We're your team of samurai!" "Let me warn you now if you follow me there is no turning back. Either we defeat the nighlok together or they will take over the world." Told Jayden

He then took out a samuraizer from the bag Nariko is holding "I will only give these only to those who accept the challenge. Do not accept because you were trained only to do so, accept only if you're willing to commit and fight as samurai power rangers with all your heart." Kevin looked at his swim cap that he had in hand before looking back at Jayden "Without hesitation!"

"I've been planning for this since I was a little girl so yes!" firmly said Mia

"I'm ready to give it all I've got!" said Emily with a smile upon her face

"Ok, ok do we have to be so formal? Let's do this thing!" said Mike with utter confidence

Jayden looked to Nariko and nodded, she returned it then went over to Kevin, Mia, Emily and Mike, handing them their samuraizers. The princess then returned to the red ranger who held her shoulders "I want you watching from a safe distance while we handle this, understand?" "Yes…You and your team be careful." "We will." Jayden gave a swift kiss to Nariko on the forehead before leaving with his team following close behind.

From a far Nariko watched as the rangers morphed for the first time and began fighting the moogers that are in their way. She watched a bit in worry as the moogers surrounded the rangers, it soon faded once Jayden summoned his Fire Smasher and got rid of a whole number of moogers that surrounded his team. Nariko smiled at this "That's my red ranger." Soon Jayden faced off with Tooya who proved to be no trouble at all for the red ranger to defeat with his Fire Smasher.

Kevin, Mia, Emily and Mike went over to their leader to congratulate him on his victory when they were met with mega size form of Tooya. Not hesitating at all Jayden went into mega mode power to which Kevin and the others followed his example. Together the samurai rangers defeated Tooya once and for all with their zords and teamwork.

Later back at the Shiba Household, the group had just walked through the front gates talking about their first victory. "What a rush! We did good!" said Emily, Mike nodded "Piece of cake!" "We wouldn't have done it without each other." Told Jayden, Kevin patted his leader's back "Thank you for leading us into battle."

At this time Ji stepped out of the household and went over to the group "Bravo! Such energy, such grace!" "Who is that?" wondered Mike "Your mentor." Told Nariko, once standing in front of the ranger team Ji greeted them "Welcome to your new home you all have come from different places and families, but share one noble goal…I'm very proud of how you come together."

"We just followed some pretty good advice and worked as a team." Said Jayden

"Yes but you're just not any team…You're the samurai rangers." Told Nariko

With that being said the team formed a circle with each other and held up their folding zords high in the air "Rangers together, samurai forever!"


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The day was beautiful at the Shiba household and the rangers were in the front yard practicing their brush strokes on the easels before them. Ji and Nariko were there over looking their practice while they observed, the samurai mentor advised his students "There is more to being a power ranger than mastering a sword. You must also learn to use your inherited samurai symbol."

Just at this time Kevin had finished writing his symbol with Nariko observing. The symbol began to glow and from it water shot out, hitting Kevin in the face. He cried out in surprise and sputtered out the water that happened to get in his mouth. Nariko giggled at this and pulled out a cloth with which she began wiping the blue ranger's face.

At this time Emily had also finished with her symbol, the kanji glowed and not like Kevin's symbol a rock appeared and fell upon the blue ranger's foot. He cried out in pain from the impact, Nariko gasp and quickly held Kevin up. Emily also held the blue ranger up while apologizing "Oh! Sorry! Are you ok?" through the pain Kevin smiled at her and reassured the yellow ranger "Yeah…I'm fine…"

Ji laughed a tiny bit as he saw this before going over Mike after observing Mia. It just so happens the green ranger was having trouble writing his symbol. He groaned a bit in frustration "Ugh! That's not right! Was it this way?"

After attempting to write his symbol again Mike smiled in satisfaction once he was done "That's it!"

Ji looked over Mike's work and shook his head "The order of the strokes is wrong…Mike you need to practice more."

"Ok I get it…Practice…"

Nariko stood by Jayden's side and watched along with the others, Mike's third attempt at writing his symbol. The green ranger stood there for a moment with his brush ready in hand before turning to Ji, placing his hand on the mentor's shoulder "How about a lunch break? You'd be amazed at how well I practice after a few slices of pizza."

The samurai mentor gave the green ranger a look, one that Mike did not miss and quickly pulled his hand off Ji's shoulder. Nariko couldn't help but giggle at this and covered her mouth in her attempt to quiet her giggling. Jayden saw this and little pinched his fiancé's side, this got her to look at him. The red ranger gave the princess a look to which she quickly cleared her throat and look the other way, still giggling a bit. Jayden saw this and couldn't help but smile a bit at his fiancé.

Meanwhile in the dark Netherworld upon the Sanzu River and on Master Xandred's boat, the nighlok leader himself was sitting upon the wooden floor sipping his medicine. While doing so Dayu was playing her Harmonia for her master, the nighlok leader sighed once he finished drinking another bowl of his medicine "Ah…This medicine makes me feel better but that music is giving me a splitting headache!" Dayu scoffed at this and continued her playing "Huh! Everybody is a critic."

Xandred poured himself another bowl full of his medicine "If only we could get this ruinous Sanzu River to rise and flood the human world! So we could sail into their cities and rule their pathetic world!"

Octoroo who had been reading through a book, walked over to Master Xandred "Oh ah ooh! Boss take a look! There's something of interest in this book!"

"What is it Octoroo? Speak up!"

"Legend has it, every time something bad happens on Earth, the Sanzu River's water level rises. So if we scare those humans their tears will fill our river so we can escape the Netherworld!"

Dayu ceased her playing and chuckled evilly at this "Ha, ha ,ha…Sounds fun…That noodle face can actually use his noodle."

Master Xandred got up from his spot and walked over to the window "Ha! That actually might work…I'm glad I thought of it…Scorpionic get over here!"

Out from the depths of the Sanzu River came the nighlok named Scorpionic. The faithful nighlok climbed onboard and approached Xandred "Master you rang?"

Back in the human world Kevin was busily training in the dojo, he currently practicing his kicks on a punching bag with Mike watching him. The green ranger then began to sip his drink rather loudly, Kevin glanced at him before continuing on in his training. Already bored by watching the blue ranger Mike asked him "Hey Kev…Do you ever take a break?"

Not once ceasing his practicing Kevin replied "Every second you're not training is a second wasted!"

"Ok, no need to blow a gasket."

Mike once again began to sip his drink loudly this time causing Kevin to stop his practicing and give the green ranger a look. Mike finally put down his drink and approached his fellow ranger "All right Kev let's see if your practice makes perfect." With that said the two rangers began to spar one another on the dojo mats.

Just as they had begun their match Mia came running into the room "Hey guys! I can't find Emily…" this caused Mike and Kevin to stop in their tracks, not only that Jayden showed up at this time too "Hey have any of you seen Nariko?" all three rangers shook their heads at Jayden's question.

"No…We haven't and I can't find Emily either…" told Mia

"That's not good…Come on we're heading out to find them." Said Jayden, the rangers nodded and followed their leader out of the household and to the city.

Upon reaching the city the four samurai rangers split up and began their search for Nariko and Emily. They looked high and low for the two missing females and soon Mia, Kevin and Mike met up at one spot after searching for quite some time.

"Any sign of Emily or Nariko?" asked Mia

Kevin shook his head "No…"

Mia then turned to the green ranger "Mike how about you?"

Too busy eating some kebobs he bought during his search, Mike looked to the pink ranger "How about what?"

"About Emily and Nariko! Were you even looking for them?" questioned Kevin

"Yeah but I got hungry! Look Emily probably went out sightseeing or shopping and probably had Nariko go along with her, I'm sure that they're ok."

Mia shook her head at this "I don't know…Emily is a country girl, she wouldn't wander around the city and besides I heard from Ji that lately Nariko has been feeling somewhat ill…"

Mike gave a simple shrug and was about to go eating his kebobs when he noticed Kevin staring at this food. The green ranger grabbed one of his kebobs and held it out to his fellow ranger "Want a bite?"

Kevin quickly looked away and shook his head "No…I don't snack between meals while I'm in samurai training."

"Man when aren't you in training?" wondered Mike

"Never…"

Mia happened to be surprised by Kevin's answer and said "Wow…You're really serious about the samurai life style…"

The blue ranger turned to her "Of course…Aren't you?"

"Yes but…I also want to have a normal life, you know…Find my prince charming someday…I'm getting use to the idea that now I'm a samurai but…It's a little scary…"

"Well it's a big adjustment but…You'll get use to it."

"What about you? I heard that you left your dreams of swimming in the Olympics to be here Kevin…Don't you miss it?"

"No…When a samurai decides to serve…He is committed…Forever…"

"Wow…Forever? That is a long time to go without a snack." Admitted Mike

Just then Jayden showed and went over to his team "There you guys are, come on I found Nariko and Emily." Happy to hear this Mia, Kevin and Mike quickly follow after Jayden who lead them to a park. There they spotted Emily practicing with a wooden sword with Nariko standing off to the side watching. Emily had just finished her practicing when Jayden and the others approached her and Nariko.

Pleased to see her practicing so hard, Kevin said "Yes! The dedication of a samurai!"

Emily smiled and shook her head "It's not just that, I promised my big sister that I would work hard and become a better fighter as the rest of you."

"Your big sister?" wondered Kevin

The yellow ranger pulled a wooden flute from the back of her pant pocket and showed it to them "My big sister was supposed to become the yellow ranger but she got sick and I had to take her place…"

"Wow…That's a lot to ask of you…" admitted Mike

"It's been tough to see her go through her illness…And anyways I wasn't a superstar at school…"

"Don't sell yourself short." Told Mia

"Oh I do have talent! I'm really good at playing the flute and I can definitely handle a sword! So becoming a power ranger is a fresh start for me!" said Emily

"Did you hear that? She has the true heart of a samurai warrior." Said Kevin

Mike handed her one of his kebobs "You've been training hard, you need this more than I do."

Nariko couldn't help but smile at the rangers bonding with each other, though suddenly she began coughing really bad. The rangers looked towards her and immediately Jayden went to her side. He wrapped his arm around his fiancé "Nariko are you all right?" she soon ceased her coughing and slowly nodded "Yeah…I'm all right…I'm probably just thirsty…" as soon as she said that, Nariko was overcome with another coughing fit though it sounded worse than before. Her coughing became too much that her legs gave out on her, Jayden quickly caught the princess in his arms "Nariko!"

He then felt her forehead and quickly pulled his hand away "Not good you have a fever, we need to get you back to the household right away." Jayden picked up his fiancé and once he had a good hold on her, he looked to his team "Come on we're heading back right now." The rangers nodded and obediently followed after their leader all the way back to the household.

Upon arriving at the household Ji was waiting in the front yard and became alarmed once seeing Jayden pass through the gate carrying Nariko in his arms. The samurai mentor quickly ran over to them "Jayden what happened!" "It's her illness…It's finally showing signs of itself." "Then we must get her to bed immediately and I'll start treating her." Jayden nodded and looked back at his team "I want you guys to wait in the living room for the time being understand?" the rangers nodded at their leader's order and left for the living room.

While doing so Jayden carried Nariko to her room with Ji closely following behind. Upon entering her room Jayden laid his fiancé on her bed. Ji took this time to wet a cloth in a bowl of water he happened to grab along the way. Wringing out the access water the samurai mentor gently laid the folded cloth on the princess' forehead.

At this time Nariko slowly opened her eyes and looked at her red ranger, weakly reaching out to him "Jay…Den…"

He immediately grabbed her hand and held it while kneeling by her bedside "Hey you're awake…You gave me quite the scare there…"

"Sor…Sorry…"

"Hey you don't need to apologize."

Ji placed his hand on Jayden's shoulder "I'm going to go prepare some medicine for Nariko to take…Can you stay with her while I do so?"

"Of course Ji."

The samurai mentor patted the red ranger's shoulder and walked out of the room. Noticing the worried look on Jayden's face, Nariko weakly smiled at him "Hey…I'm gonna be all right…Don't worry…" seeing her smile ease Jayden's worry somewhat, he gave Nariko's hand a small squeeze and brought her hand up to his lips where he laid a gentle kiss, not saying a word at all.

20 minutes flown by and suddenly in the living where the rangers were waiting at, the samurai symbol upon the wall began blinking red and an alarm went off.

Mike looked at the alarm as he was caught off guard "What is that?"

Ji quickly entered the room "That's the Gap sensor, it goes off when a nighlok enters through a gap from the Netherworld."

The samurai mentor stopped at the table and pressed the samurai symbol upon it. A holographic scroll appeared to which Ji unrolled it, revealing it to be the map of the city.

Mike couldn't help but look at it in amazement "Wow!"

Mia also looked at the map and wondered out loud "Where are they?"

"City hall…" answered Ji

Jayden entered the room at this time and gazed down at the map for a moment before making his way to the front doors "Samurai we have a battle to fight!"

The rangers stared after their leader and seeing how they weren't immediately following after Jayden, Ji said "Well don't just stand there, follow him!" with that being said Kevin, Mike, Mia and Emily quickly left the household to follow after Jayden.

The battle against the nighlok named Scorpionic was a bit long and hard, though the rangers managed to get rid of the moogers the nighlok had with him. Once facing the nighlok as a giant the rangers didn't hesitate in defeating Scorpionic once and for all. Seeing that the nighlok was gone for good, Jayden and the other rangers made their way back to the Shiba household.

Upon entering the household the rangers couldn't help but talk about their battle with the nighlok. While they talked Ji who came around the corner approached the rangers "Well done, all of you!" "Thanks Ji." Said Jayden

Noticing the look the yellow ranger's face and how quiet she was, Mike asked "Hey Emily what's up?"

"Well…I almost let you all down today…"

"You did great Emily, you were really strong." Said Jayden

"Your big sister would be very proud of you." Told Mia

Emily smiled a bit at this then realized something and looked to Ji "How is Nariko doing?"

"I'm doing just fine…"

Everyone turned around to find the Yamada princess standing behind them; surprised to see her there Ji scolded "Nariko! You're supposed to be in bed resting!" "I know Ji."

Jayden went over to his fiance pulling her into an embrace "Nariko…Ji is right…You need to get back to bed and rest." "I'll be fine Jayden…"

Mike took this time to divert everyone's attention on Nariko to him "Hey guys I've got a big surprise for you. I've learned a new symbol."

A bit pleased by this Ji couldn't help but wonder "Really?"

Mike gave a cheeky smile and pulled out his samuraizer, he turned toward the practice dojo and drew the symbol "Symbol power fun!"

The kanji glowed and from it produced yellow confetti as the confetti fell to the ground, music began to play and Mike started to dance to it. Emily began to giggling at this along with Nariko, the others simply just smiled and watched the green ranger dance his heart out. Seeing the smile on Nariko's face caused Jayden to kiss her head and hold her tightly. The princess smiled more at her fiancé's affection and returned the embrace thus continuing to watch Mike dance along with the others.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

In another dimension there happens to be another power ranger team called the RPM rangers who fight to protect their world from evil robots threatening to harm it. Currently the red ranger leader of the RPM rangers was doing a standoff with an evil robot by the name of Professor Cog; a minion to General Venjix's forces. Just when it seemed the red ranger defeated the evil robot, Professor Cog tricked him and pulled a surprise attack. With the red RPM ranger down, Professor Cog used this chance to makes his escape to leave this dimension and to another.

The dimension that the evil robot traveled to happened to be home to the samurai rangers. Turns out that Professor Cog arrived to the place by using a subway train and is currently finding a way to Master Xandred. At this time a nighlok was attacking the city causing Jayden and the others to take action. Upon arriving at the area of the attack, the rangers looked around in confusion since they're not able to find the nighlok.

"The gap sensor went off right here…" said Emily

"Yeah…But where is the nighlok?" wondered Kevin

Not at all fazed by this, Jayden cautiously looked around "Stay sharp, he must be close by…"

Once he said that the building right in front of the rangers exploded, the force of it made the group fly back. As the dust cloud slowly disappeared there stood the nighlok the rangers were looking for.

"He just destroyed that building!" cried Mia

"We have to stop this!" exclaimed Emily

The rangers quickly back up on their feet and drew their spin swords just as the nighlok named Sharkjaw approached them "Samurai rangers! I'm like a force of nature, a twister and a shark bite, wrapped in one and ready to fight!" before the rangers could charge at the monster, Antonio showed up and got in front of them "Hey wait for me!"

"You're late!" Kevin pointed out

"Sorry but this will be worth the wait!"

The gold ranger then faced Sharkjaw with his sword in hand "Hey Sharkjaw! Get ready for a barracuda bite!"

With that said Antonio charged at the nighlok who did the same and while those two fought, Professor Cog happened to be watching them from a far "Rangers are in this dimension too? Those pests don't matter that monster will lead me to Master Xandred."

The battle continued on with Sharkjaw proving to be a difficult nighlok for the rangers to handle. Antonio tried to fight Sharkjaw one on one but proved to be no good, just as the nighlok was about to attack the other rangers Nariko showed up slashing Sharkjaw with her naginata.

"Nariko you're here!" exclaimed Emily

"I figured you needed a bit of help so I came."

Sharkjaw took a few steps back, clutching his chest "Oh no I'm drying up! You rangers got lucky!" and with that the nighlok made his escape through a gap, back to the Netherworld.

"Perfect! Now that I know where the entrance is, it's time to pay Master Xandred a visit!" said Professor Cog to which he did so

Once Sharkjaw was gone from their sights, the rangers powered down and went over to the Yamada princess. "Nice work there Nariko." Said Mike "Thanks…But I didn't do much…" "Hey you showed up and that matters." Told Mia, Nariko smiled at her "Thanks…" Emily skipped over to the princess' side and grabbed her arm "And since you helped us with that nasty nighlok I say we go for ice cream as a treat!" "That sounds real yummy Emily." "Well let's go then!" while the yellow ranger bounded off with Mike, Mia and Kevin following after her, Jayden held out his hand to Nariko "Shall we?" she giggled a bit and grabbed her fiancé's hand, letting him lead her away to follow the others.

10 minutes passed and the group received their delicious, sweet treat. Currently they were walking down the sidewalk, eating their ice cream except for Kevin who was munching on some carrot and celery. "Kev we beat the nighlok this is a celebration!" told Mike "I am celebrating Mike!" "Why didn't you get ice cream like us?"

Emily lightly hit the green ranger's arm "Mike stop picking on him!"

"But he's eating veggies!"

Kevin munched on his carrot "I've been feeling a little sluggish lately Mike, so it's back to a strict samurai diet!" Mike pushed away the carrot Kevin was eating and waved his ice cream in front of the blue ranger's face "Wouldn't you rather have mint chip?" "No!"

From out of nowhere a car fell right in front of the group which greatly surprised them. Jayden immediately held Nariko against him just as the event occurred, he looked down at her "You all right?" "Yeah…Just a bit scared from the car's sudden appearance…"

Mia looked up to the bridge above them and saw some activity going on; she pointed this to the others "Up there!" "Let's go!" told Jayden, they quickly made their way onto the bridge and to their surprise found some strange mechanic creatures causing havoc and emitted a strange sound.

"Nighlok with lasers?" wondered Emily

"Those steam punks aren't nighlok." Said Mike

"They're machines, that explains the sound." Told Nariko

"Either way we need to stop them." Declared Jayden

The five samurai rangers brought out their samuraizers and morph while Nariko summoned her naginata. "Let's just see how tough these roadblocks are!" said Jayden and with that said the group charged the strange machine creatures who charged back.

While fighting with these machines, the group was having difficulty fighting them off. "Ugh! These are tougher than moogers!" exclaimed Kevin "That just means we'll have to kick it up a notch!" said Mike, he slashed at some of the machine creatures but the attack prove to be no effect on them "They're wearing armor!"

"They're wearing armor, they are armor!" exclaimed Emily

Mia kept attacking the strange machine creatures but none of her blows were affecting any of them "No matter how many hits I land these things won't go down!"

"Remember never give up!" told Jayden while continuing to fight the machines, Nariko did the same but as she was distracted, one of the machines kicked the princess hard in the back.

She fell to the ground with a grunt, Jayden saw this and tried to go to her "Nariko!" to his dismay more of the machine creatures got in his way. The Yamada princess looked up to see the machine creatures charging at her with their weapons, raised up high.

Nariko immediately held up her arms, bracing herself from the oncoming attack. Though before the machines could do any harm to her, from out of nowhere the machines were shot at from an unknown source. Nariko put her arms down to find a red ranger standing in front of her, though she quickly realized it wasn't her red ranger "What?...Another ranger?"

"Why hello there!" greeted the red ranger who turned out to the RPM leader, his sudden appearance also happen to surprise Jayden and the others once seeing him.

The red RPM ranger looked to the samurai rangers "Hey they're made of metal, so your swords won't cut it, but watch this!"

With his gun in hand the RPM red ranger charged at the machine creatures and began to shot them all down without breaking a sweat. Once all the machine creatures were destroyed for good, the RPM leader made his way over to Nariko.

He held out his hand to her "Are you all right?"

She nodded and took his hand "Uh…Yes I'm fine, thank you…"

While helping her up the RPM leader couldn't help but ask "What's your name?"

"Nariko…My name is Nariko…"

"Well nice to meet you Nariko, glad to see that you're ok."

The Yamada princess smiled a bit at this then turned once hearing someone call out her name. It was Jayden who had powered down along with the others and approached the two. Nariko immediately went to her fiancé "Jayden!" the couple hugged each other tightly, relieved to see that the other is not hurt.

Jayden then protectively held Nariko close to him as he looked towards the other red ranger "Who are you?" "Well I'm a power ranger just like you, but where I come from they call me ranger red." Noticing how the group was silent at this, the RPM leader approached the samurai rangers "What? Oh! You're mad because I took out those Grinders for you…Well…They're robots from my dimension I wasn't sure if your old school swords would handle them."

The leader held out his hand to Jayden "You can call me Scott…Please to meet you…"

Jayden slowly grabbed Scott's hand and shook it while firmly saying "I'm sure we'll have met until I can look you in the eyes." "Ah…Not right now…I have my reasons…"

Kevin leaned over and whispered in his leader's ear "Jayden…A lot has been going on today…I don't think we should just trust him…"

The red samurai ranger glanced back at him before looking the other way in thought. Then turned his attention back on Scott "Ranger red…You say you come from another dimension, so how did you get here?" Tired of how cautious her fiance is being, Nariko got out from his hold and stood by Scott's side "Jayden enough already! He's obviously a friend."

Emily quickly stood on Scott's other side taking a hold of his arm "Yeah! He can tell us everything when we get home!" Mia nodded at this "Yeah! I'll cook something for you!" with being said the girls began dragging Scott away having the guys watching.

Minutes passed and the group arrived back at the Shiba household, there in the front yard is Ji polishing his motorcycle. He looked up from his bike once hearing the gates open, to his surprise the samurai mentor watched as Mia, Nariko and Emily led Scott inside the household. Mia soon went ahead of the group declaring "I'll get dinner started!"

While Nariko, Emily and Scott pass Ji, the RPM leader immediately spotted the samurai mentor's bike "Oh! I thought you samurai just ride horses, now that is more like it!" both Nariko and Emily giggled at this as the three continued on inside. Ji looked to Jayden, Mike and Kevin "Who's our new friend?" "That's what we're gonna go find out." Answered Jayden who couldn't help but toss a light glare towards Scott as they went in.

Once entering the household Emily, Nariko, Jayden, Kevin and Mike let Scott check out the place. The RPM leader was a bit surprised while he looked around "What in the world? Uh…You guys really do live a Spartan life don't you? There's no TV or video games…Interesting…You guys are really about being old school…"

"Old school? Are you even aware at all that you were this close to cutting off my head?" exclaimed Kevin who began advancing towards Scott

Jayden grabbed the blue ranger's shoulder and pulled him back "All right that's enough…Scott cut to the chase, educate us." Nariko went over to the RPM leader and placed her hand on his shoulder "Yeah why don't you demorph, make yourself at home and tell us about yourself?"

"Ok…I'm here to hunt down a robot…His name is Professor Cog…He's looking for a way to wipe out the last people left in my dimension…But…To answer your question I can't demorph because I don't know if I can breathe the air here…In my dimension we've been forced to live in a dome city just to avoid the toxic atmosphere to the robots have created…Well it's been a long day so…I'd appreciate to have some privacy…Is there somewhere I can go?" said Scott

Nariko looked to Jayden who nodded at this "Uh…Yeah sure…There's a spare room down the hall." "Thanks." Said Scott, he gently took Nariko's hand off his shoulder and patted it before taking his leave. As the group watch him walk down the hall, Emily couldn't help but say "Wow…I feel so bad for him…" Mike shook his head and stood right next to the yellow ranger "Yeah well…I still don't trust him and I don't like the way he looks at you."

Taking a moment to think over what Mike said, Nariko looked at the green ranger "Mike…He's wearing a helmet…"

"Yeah…How could you tell even though he looked at Nariko?" wondered Emily

Realizing his little slip up Mike quickly said "I could just tell."

Hearing what Emily said about Scott looking at Nariko, Jayden went over to his fiance and grabbed her hand "If you'll excuse us." Not waiting for any of them to reply, the red ranger headed outside the garden bringing his fiancé along.

Not liking how her red ranger is acting right now, Nariko pulled her hand from his grasp. This caused Jayden to stop and turn "Nariko what-" "What's wrong with you Jayden?"

He turned away from her and made his way over to the garden bench "Nothing is wrong."

Nariko quickly followed after him "Yeah right, like I'm going to believe that."

Jayden took a seat on the bench and the Yamada princess immediately sat next to him "Jayden…Tell me what's wrong?" "Why do you assume that something is wrong?" "Because you started acting strange ever since Scott showed up."

Nariko stopped and thought for a bit then looked at the red ranger "Jayden…Are you jealous of Scott?"

The Shiba boy looked at her in surprise "What? What makes you think I'm jealous of him?"

"Jayden…If it's not jealously then what is it? Whatever is troubling you I want to help but I can't since you're not willing to tell me nor can I read your mind."

The red ranger sighed and rubbed the back of his neck "You…You were right about me being jealous of Scott…I couldn't stand the thought of him having an interest in you or being near you Nariko…Along with you taking an interest in him."

Nariko smiled a bit and gently grabbed her fiancé's hand "Oh Jayden…You don't need to worry about any of that, there's no need for you to be jealous of Scott…Because you're the only one I'm interested in…You're the one I love so much." "Nariko…"

The red ranger then hugged the Yamada princess, laying his head upon her shoulder "I love you too…And you're right there's no reason for me to be jealous of another red ranger since we've been together for quite some time."

Nariko giggled a bit and returned the hug "Exactly."

2 hours later Kevin, Emily, Mike, Nariko and Jayden had gathered in the kitchen for their meal. Currently they were sitting at the counter watching Mia cook and laid food before them. At this time Scott showed up at the doorway, Mia who was putting down another dish on the counter spotted the RPM ranger "Hey Scott, come and eat!"

The others looked at the ranger who looked around for a bit, not uttering one word to them. Disliking his lack of response, Mike picked up his for which had some food on it and held it out towards Scott "Here have some!"

Emily quickly pushed his arm down and scolded the green ranger "Hey! Be nice!"

The group then watched Scott leave the kitchen without saying a word, Mike scoffed a bit and turned away "Guess he'd rather starve…The helmet is genius though…From now on whenever Mia cooks I'm wearing my helmet." with that said Mike ate the food on his fork and immediately made a gross face.

The Gap sensor went off this time causing Kevin, Emily, Nariko and Jayden to get up from their seats and quickly leave. Mike also followed after them but not before spitting out the food back into his bowl. Mia turned around while taking off her apron and huffed, following after her friends "My meal!"


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

At the living room area Ji was already sitting at the table, looking over the map of the city. The rangers and Nariko quickly gathered around the samurai mentor, taking a look at the map too. Ji sighed and looked at the rangers "There's no nighlok detected but there is a disturbance at the water fountain…"

Suddenly from outside everyone heard the rev of a motorcycle engine leaving the front yard and looked towards the doors. Realizing what had just happened Ji exclaimed "He took my bike!" Jayden quickly ran out of the household to follow after Scott, the others watched as he left. Nariko looked to the other rangers "You guys better follow after Jayden and Scott, I have a feeling that they're going to need the help." Kevin nodded at this "Nariko is right, come on you guys!"

Meanwhile at the city docks Antonio happened to be fishing there when he was attacked by Grinders. The gold ranger managed to fend the machines off on his own until Scott showed up and got rid of them. Soon more Grinders appeared and followed after Scott who moved to another dock. There he easily got rid of the machines by using his blaster with no problem at all.

Once the Grinders were gone from sight, Professor Cog showed up at this time and was surprised to see the RPM ranger "What do we have here? You again? I thought I finished you ranger red!" Scott charged at the evil machine with his sword drawn "Told you I'd track you down!"

Once again the two went into battle and while they fought Scott declared "Whatever you and Master Xandred are up to, it's not going to work!" "First this world and then they go to destroy yours!" "They'll never make it back there!"

As the two rivals continue to fight Antonio showed up and began watching the fight. Not long after his arrival, Jayden and the other rangers showed up too.

"Antonio!" called Emily

"Hey guys! Check it out look!" exclaimed Antonio

The rangers joined their fellow gold ranger and drew their spin swords. "Sorry we're late." Told Jayden "Who is this guy? What's going on?" wondered Antonio "Fight now, talk later!" "Right go it!"

And with that said the samurai rangers charged at Scott and Professor Cog with their swords drawn. Joining in on the fight Jayden questioned Professor Cog "So you're working with the nighlok?" "Yes we have a deal, it involves you and after you're destroyed the human population will be squashed like grapes, ask ranger red."

Scott angrily growled at this and charged the machine "Shut up motor mouth!"

Professor Cog easily blocked the rangers' attack and hit all of them with one of his own. Scott was the only one left standing and once again he charged at the professor "You're mine Cog!" the two easily blocked each other's attacks but Professor Cog was one step ahead of Scott.

He pushed the RPM leader away from him "And these are for you! Hypno bolts!" dark purple glowing bolts came out from Cog's chest and hit Scott straight on. The RPM ranger fell back right next to Jayden who was slowly getting up. Scott quickly got back on his feet and was about to go attack Professor Cog again when Jayden stopped him "Wait! What are Hypno bolts, how do you feel?" "Like fighting!"

"Ranger red you'd never seem to know when you are beat. Ha, ha, ha!" chuckled Professor Cog

"It's simple I'm not beat! That's what you tin cans don't know, I'm a power ranger I don't give up!" told Scott who again charged at Professor Cog

Unfortunately though the evil machine once again sent out his Hypno bolts which hit Scott once more and this time hit Jayden. The attack sent the two red rangers flying back to the edge of the docks. Professor Cog casually approached the two rangers "You're a pest ranger red! I made a deal to get rid of the samurai rangers. Sending you away is a bonus!"

Professor Cog put out his wrench hand and a dark purple vortex began to appear. Realizing what that is Scott looked to Jayden "A vortex! That'll send us to my dimension!" "You can't escape! Vector vortex!" exclaimed Professor Cog

The evil machine sent the vortex towards Scott and Jayden but before it could reach them, Kevin and the others got in front of the two red rangers and shielded them. In result the group got sucked into the vortex and the blast from it sent Jayden and Scott from the dock to the water below. Once the rangers were gone from sight Professor Scott scoffed "Huh! That takes care of five rangers and my Hypno bolts can work their magic on the red rangers."

5 minutes went by and the two red rangers were climbing back onto the dock. Jayden who had demorph in the water was the first to climb onto the dock. He turned to Scott who was in the process of getting back on. The red samurai ranger held out his hand "Here Scott let me help." "I don't need your help!" snapped the RPM leader who finally climbed onto the dock and began walking away. Jayden frowned at this and shook his head before following after Scott.

Soon they were sitting on some crates drying off from their little dunk in the water. The two sat then in silence until Scott broke it "Your team sacrificed themselves…" "Yes…They protect me because they think I'm the key to stopping Mater Xandred…" "Oh wow…You're pretty full of yourself aren't you?" "No it's not like that…And before you make judgments, take a look at yourself!"

Scott remained quiet at this while Jayden sighed "Do you think Professor Cog sent my team to your world?" "That's a safe bet…And if they're there then my team will help them." The red samurai ranger nodded at this and turned his gaze to the ocean waters.

"Jayden!"

He along with Scott turned their heads to see Nariko running towards them. Jayden immediately got up from the crate "Nariko!" she tackled her fiancé, wrapping her arms around his waist in a tight embrace "Are you all right Jayden?" "I'm fine Nariko." Breaking the embrace the princess immediately noticed something was wrong "Jayden…What happened to Kevin and the others?" he sighed at this and grabbed her hand "I'll explain everything to you when we get back to the household." "But Jayden!" the red samurai ranger didn't say another word but drag Nariko away with Scott having to follow the couple.

It happened to be nighttime when the three returned to the Shiba household, upon entering the building Jayden stormed into the hallway and stopped in front of the dojo where Ji was prepping a practice dummy. Sensing that something is wrong Ji asked "Jayden? Where's the rest of the team?" "Sucked through a vortex, probably to where this guy came from!" snapped Jayden who pointed a finger at Scott.

Annoyed by this the RPM leader brushed pass the red samurai ranger "Yeah well it's their fault…They got in the way…"

Jayden angrily glared at Scott "No they saved us!"

Noticing her fiancé's strange change in attitude, Nariko gently grabbed his arm "Jayden…You need to calm down…What's with the sudden change in attitude? I've never seen you act like this before…" "It's all because of Scott! If it weren't for him then my team wouldn't be stuck in another dimension!" "Jayden…" "I don't see what you like about him anyway."

Surprised by his remark Nariko stood in front of the red ranger "Jayden we talked about this, I don't have any interest in Scott at all." "And how do I know if that's the truth? What if it was all a lie?" "Jayden…I would never lie to you and you know that very well!" "Yeah whatever…" and with that Jaden brushed pass the Yamada princess.

Greatly shock by what just happened Nariko quickly turned around and watched Jayden go around the corner towards his room. Ji who was also shocked by this quickly made his way over to the princess. Tears already filled her eyes as the samurai mentor pulled her into a hug "Nariko…" "Ji…What's happening to Jayden?" "I'm not sure but I promise you I will find out." Nariko nodded at this before burying her head in Ji's chest and started to cry.

The next morning Ji and Jayden had gathered around the living room table, looking down on the city map. Nariko was there too but sat away from her red ranger, the event that happened yesterday was still running through her mind, she remained silent as Ji and Jayden began to discuss with each other. "Unbelievable…" muttered Jayden "If I didn't know any better I'd think the map is malfunctioning." Admitted Ji "There's so many of them…" "A major nighlok force is gathering…This doesn't look good…" at this time Scott showed up, joining Ji and Jayden at the table looking down on the map. Jayden glanced at the RPM leader and looked to Ji "We've got it." "It's a piece of cake." Admitted Scott

Ji looked at Scott who said "Oh I mean a piece of cake for me but for him…" he gestured towards Jayden "Uh…Not so sure…"

Jayden glared hard at Scott before storming off "See you later buddy."

Nariko immediately stood up from her seat and ran after her fiance "Jayden!"

Though as she reached outside Jayden was already riding away on his horse, Nariko stopped in her tracks and muttered in worry "Oh Jayden…"

Suddenly the Yamada princess heard a loud engine rev behind her, she turned around to find Scott upon Ji's motorcycle. Nariko quickly got out of the way in order for Scott to quickly drive off. Just as he left on the bike, Ji just came out in time to see the RPM leader and said in frustration "Not again!"

Out on the road the two red rangers were having a race against each other, seeing who would reach the battle first. Turns out that Jayden won the race and reached the battle first before Scott. As the RPM leader arrived at the battle, he was greatly upset to be beaten by Jayden. Angry for him being there he began fighting with Jayden. This resulted in a duel between the two red rangers. Professor Cog who was obviously at the battle was greatly pleased by the effects of his Hypno bolts.

Their duel raged on with both rangers blocking each other's attacks, it soon ended where Jayden was hit by Scott's blaster and in turn the RPM leader received a blow from Jayden's spin sword.

"Yes victory!" exclaimed Professor Cog

Scott who looked fine from the blow, laughed a bit as he brushed his shoulder "Ha! Not a scratch!"

Jayden was also fine from the shot he received and pulled out a silver emblem from his suit "You could've turned that laser down a notch, but the shield you gave me turned out great."

Scott pulled out a slip of paper from his suit with a symbol upon it "Yeah! So did your symbol power, good job! You know Mentor's plan worked out perfectly."

The RPM leader then handed Jayden his spin sword "Here!" "Thanks!"

Scott then turned to face Venjix's evil minion "Nice to see you again Professor Cog! Oh and thanks for teaching me the fake out trick!"

"What?" growled Professor Cog

"Yeah good try with your mind control bolts, my mentor and fiance noticed that we were acting weird and they figured out a way to reverse your poison." Told Jayden

(Earlier, way before the battle)

Scott and Jayden were in the living room with Nariko and Ji, the RPM ranger laid a finger on Jayden who smacked his hand away "Don't touch me!"

He then pushed Scott's helmet and two began pushing each other, Ji quickly went over to the two pushing them apart. Nariko who was standing near the bookshelf was currently looking through a journal. Finding what she was looking for, the princess looked to the samurai mentor "Ji!"

He looked at her and quickly left the two red rangers, Ji stood by Nariko's side and took a look at the journal "That symbol most likely will work." The samurai mentor took out a samuraizer similar to the rangers and wrote the symbol in the book. He then sent the symbol towards Jayden and Scott.

Once being hit by the symbol, both rangers fell to their knees from the sudden dizziness. Jayden was the first to stand up on his feet, he held out his hand toward Scott to which he took letting Jayden help him up.

(Back at the battle)

"Once our heads were cleared we knew we had to team up and turn the tables on you. You made the mistake of underestimating us. We're humans you can reprogram our motors that easily." Said Jayden

"But thanks for letting us ride right onto your doorstep." Said Scott

"That's the last time you'll make a fool out of me! Sergeant Tread!" growled Professor Cog

The nighlok sergeant under the command of Master Xandred looked to the moogers and grinders "Attack, get them!"

The group of moogers and grinders did as they were told though they did not stand a chance against Jayden and Scott. While the battle raged on Jayden and Scott stopped in their tracks as they heard something crackle in the air. "Jayden! Do you hear that?" questioned Scott

Both he and Jayden looked up in the sky to see a vortex appearing. From it Kevin, Mia, Emily, Mike and Antonio came out from it, landing safely right next to Jayden and Scott.

"Good timing you guys!" said Jayden

"So you missed us?" asked Mike

"Like you wouldn't believe!"

"Took us awhile to reverse the vortex." Admitted Kevin

Emily went over to Scott's side happily telling him "Scott your team says hi!"

Professor Cog was lying upon the ground thanks to Jayden and Scott while Sergeant Tread growled and charged at the ranger group.

"Time to finish what we started!" declared Jayden

With that said the rangers attacked the nighlok sergeant one by one before turning their attacks on Professor Cog who had gotten up at this time.

Repeating the same process they did on Sergeant Tread, the rangers successfully defeated both Professor Cog and the nighlok sergeant.

Though before the rangers could celebrate their victory, a huge mooger army showed up being led by a nighlok named General Gut, but that did not stop the rangers.

Not hesitating at all the ranger group charged at the mooger army, ready to take down every creature in sight.

The huge battle raged on to the point where the rangers were facing a giant General Gut. Even though he proved to be difficult to handle, the rangers didn't give up and with their combined powers defeated the hideous General Gut.

Much later the rangers were making their way to the subway station to see Scott off. Nariko happened to be with the rangers as they were making their way towards the station entrance. Though before they entered Jayden stopped "You guys go on ahead…I'd like to talk to Nariko alone for a bit."

The rangers nodded and made their way inside the station, once the couple was alone Jayden turned to the Yamada princess "Nariko…I want to apologize for the way I acted last night…" "Hey…It's ok, it's not your fault, it was Professor Cog's hypno bolts that made you act like that." "I know but…What I said to you…I didn't mean any of it." "I know you didn't Jayden." "Nariko…I heard you crying when I left to my room…And knowing that it was me who caused your tears-"

Nariko gently cupped her fiancé's face "Jayden that's enough…I forgive you…What's done is done and there's nothing you can do to change it." "I just…I just don't want to lose you because of what I said…" "Jayden you could never lose me over that…" "I love you Nariko." "I love you too Jayden." The couple shared a tight embrace which lasted for quite a bit. Soon Jayden broke it and rubbed Nariko's back "Come on, we better head in or the others will wonder what's taking us so long." "Ok."

Once inside the station a subway train was all ready to departure, Scott looked at the train then at the group "All right…It's time for me to take the fight back to my world." "Thank you for helping us save the city." Said Jayden, Scott chuckle at this and shook his head "No…Thank you…Look if Professor Cog had succeeded, my world would've been in big trouble. You guys are pretty good, even though you are tragically old school." Everyone lightly laughed at this, soon they heard a light ding indicating that the train was going to leave soon.

"Well…It's time for me to go…" announced Scott

"Say hi to your team for us!" said Emily

As the RPM leader began making his way to the train, Mike ran up to him and exchanged a few words. Once they were done Mike came back to the group and in turn Jayden went over to Scott for a little chat "Scott…Once again thank you…" "No problem…"

The RPM leader then gestured his head toward Nariko "She's means a lot to you doesn't she?"

Jayden nodded at this "Yeah…She's the light to my world…"

"You've got a beautiful girl Jayden, you take good care of her you hear me? If not I'll come back here and beat some sense into you."

"Don't worry I will…You take care Scott…"

"You too, tell the others I said take care all right?"

"I can do that."

The two red rangers gave each other a firm handshake, once letting go Scott stepped into the train. As he was inside the doors closed behind him and the train slowly took off. Once the train was gone from sight Jayden returned to his rangers and fiance.

In turn they began leaving the train station and made their way back home. Nariko looked at Jayden asking "So…What did you and Scott talked about before he left?" "Oh just some things, we thanked each other again." "Is that all?" "Yup." Seeing the look that the Yamada princess was giving him, Jayden chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist, laying a kiss upon her forehead. He looked at his ranger team "Come on let's head home and get some well-deserved rest." All of them nodded in agreement and happily followed after the couple back to their samurai home to enjoy the peace they had for now.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The weather was rather chilly and somewhat snowy as it was the day before Christmas. Most of the citizens in the city were doing last minute Christmas shopping or hurrying their way home to spend the holiday with their families. Currently at the Shiba Household, Jayden, Nariko, Mia, Kevin and Mike were in the living room hanging up Christmas decorations. While doing so Ji showed up at this time carrying a big Christmas tree.

"Ho, ho, ho! Now that's what I call a Christmas tree!" declared the samurai mentor

The group stopped what they're doing and looked, all four of them smiled as they set eyes on the tree. The boys immediately went over to help Ji setup the tree in the living room, while carrying it in the samurai mentor said "It's the biggest one they had!"

"Oh it's looking a lot more like Christmas! Let's decorate!" Mia excitedly said who then ran over to the men, bringing Nariko along.

Before decorating, the pink ranger couldn't help but ask "Do we have pink tinsel?"

Mike chuckled a bit at this "Well wait till we finish setting the tree up first."

While Kevin, Mike and Ji were finishing setting the tree in the living room, Jayden noticed his fiance was simply standing there watching and went over to her "Something wrong Nariko?"

She shook her head "No…I was just simply admiring our Christmas tree…"

"What do you think of it?"

"I like it a whole lot."

"So do I."

Nariko smiled at the red ranger and soon was approached by Mia "Come on Nariko! The guys are done setting up the tree so let's get to decorating!" the Yamada princess giggled a bit as she was dragged over to the tree by the pink ranger.

During this time Emily happened to be in her room, she was currently sitting at her desk preparing to write an email to her sister Serena. Just as she opened her laptop, Mike showed up at this time "Hey Em, Mentor got a tree come check it out!" "I will in a little bit, I'm gonna write my sister a Christmas letter first." "All right."

With that the green samurai ranger took his leave and Emily focused her attention on her laptop, thus beginning her letter to her sister.

"Dear Serena, this year has been the most exciting of my life. Ever since I received the message arrow, it's been a nonstop journey of discovery. It's hard to believe how much has change ever since that day, I've met the best friends anyone could ever have. Mike is so excited for Christmas I think he might burst, he's such a kid at heart, we've become really close. I tried to help him when he hurt his back, he's always looking for the fun in life and he introduced me to my first ride on a rollercoaster. He's such a funny guy, he loves dancing and always wants to have fun, but when he first became a power ranger he had a harder time adjusting more than anyone. Being a samurai isn't all fun and games, improving our skills take hard work and isn't always fun. What we need to do is ready ourselves for battle; he was a bit of a rebel. It took him awhile but he worked real hard, Mike really had something to prove and when the time came Mike proved he had what it takes. He really arose the occasion that day but it wasn't just Mike who had a lot to learn. Mia was so good at everything she did; I'm so lucky and really glad she took me under her wing."

Emily stopped her typing for a bit then glance to her right to find a photo frame right by her laptop. In it contained a photo of her, Mia and Nariko, all three of them happily smiling with their arms linked. The yellow ranger couldn't help but smile at this and turned her attention back to her laptop, continuing on with her email.

"And of course I can't forget about Nariko, the first time I met her she looked so bold and confident. At first I thought Nariko was a strict person but I soon found out that she's really kind and puts others before herself. Not only that Nariko is also a princess, can you believe that Serena? I was really surprised when I found out; I had no idea that Nariko was a princess and next heir to her clan. She also happens to be engaged to be Jayden, our samurai leader. Those two make a wonderful couple; they're practically made for each other. Nariko sometimes reminds me of you sometimes Serena, she was also very ill at the time when we first met but later on she got really better, all thanks to Kevin. Mia, Nariko and I being the only girls have really bonded. There was one time where we had to throw an elaborate fake wedding to trick the nighlok; of course Nariko played a beautiful bride perfectly with Jayden being her groom. At first I thought it was really their wedding but they really haven't set a date for their wedding, but when they do I can't wait to see it! Mia also had to play a beautiful bride since Nariko got kidnapped at the time. She always dreamed of being in a wedding but not like this, Mia was so good that even the guys got emotional I really look up to both Mia and Nariko."

Just as that was being typed both Mia and Nariko entered the yellow ranger's room. "Hey Em! Do you have any tape left?" asked Mia, Emily grabbed a roll of tape and held it out to her "Yeah sure, here." The pink ranger smiled and took the tape "Thank you!" As she left the room, Nariko went over and gently grabbed her shoulder "You gonna come out and help us decorate Emily?" "Yeah I'll be out there in a little bit, I'm just currently writing my sister an email." "Ok I was just wondering, you take your time and I'll leave some things for you to decorate." "Ok thanks Nariko."

The Yamada princess smiled at the yellow ranger and rubbed her back before leaving the room. Emily couldn't help but smile as she watch Nariko leave the room and thought "Mia and Nariko are definitely my best friends now."

Back in the living room Nariko arrived to see Jayden and Kevin putting some colorful ribbons upon Mike's body. She couldn't help but giggle at the sight and thought "Oh I can never get enough of those three, somehow they always managed to make me laugh with their little antics." The princess soon spotted some more ribbons upon the table; she walked over and grabbed two before proceeding to sneak up behind Jayden. Once behind him Nariko reached up and placed the two ribbons upon his head. He automatically felt this and turned around; Nariko giggled at the sight of her fiance and ran off with Jayden chasing after her.

"I'm gonna get you for that Nariko!" the red ranger playfully said

"If you can try and catch me!"

"We'll see about that!"

They ran into the dojo and went back to the living room where Jayden caught Nariko by the waist. He picked her up and placed her over his shoulder and began spinning around. Nariko laughed as the red ranger did this and lightly pounded on his back "Ha, ha, ha! Jayden put me down!" "I don't think so, love!"

Kevin and Mike chuckled as they watched the two while Mia walked into the room at this time. She stopped and smiled as the pink ranger watch the couple and thought

"I'm so glad that Jayden has learned to let go and have fun. I remember when we went to the amusement park, at first he didn't go but then he showed up and we had such a good time. The reason he didn't come along with us at first was because he couldn't help himself from working towards perfection. For Jayden training never stopped and he went too far. Jayden needed to find a balance between life and training but both Mentor and Nariko were there to watch over him, mostly Nariko. Both she and Jayden are one in the same, always keeping an eye out for each other, caring for one another; it's no wonder why they're engaged."

Mia then turned her attention to the blue ranger who was now chuckling at how Mike looked with the decorations on him and thought

"But Jayden's loyal follower and admirer is Kevin. He respects the samurai life so much that he wants to be just like Jayden. They're both incredible skilled and they practice together and have learned to trust each other completely. When Jayden chose Kevin to be the one to get the swordfish disk, Kevin was so determined he would have gone to any length to get it. He brought it back and the new power really did mean that the sky was the limit to what he could do. Kevin is the perfect teammate for Jayden; he inspires all of us to the commitment of the samurai. Just like Jayden, he never stops working to get better, to be the best. Kevin is always the last to be and first to rise. Even in his sleep he thinks of new ideas, you can always count on Kevin."

Jayden finally put Nariko down who was now a bit dizzy from the twirling; she stumbled a bit only to have the red ranger caught her in his arms. He chuckled at his fiance "You ok there?" she playfully hit his shoulder "Hey you're the one who was twirling me around!" Jayden chuckled once more and placed a kiss on Nariko's forehead.

Kevin then turned to Mia as she was messing with a bow "Hey Mia…Did you find that tape? Because we have a lot of presents to wrap."

She handed him the tape that Emily gave her "Here…I'm gonna go check on my cookies in the oven real quick."

And as she left the living room, the blue ranger couldn't help but say "Oh…Mia's cookies…Can't wait…"

Mike grinned and took off the bells that Jayden put on his ears "Remember when she almost burnt down the kitchen cooking that chicken?"

"Mia was so sweet…But that burnt chicken was so sour! I just didn't have the heart to tell her how it tasted…" admitted Kevin

Nariko soon put up one last decoration on the tree and stepped back to admire it. The guys joined too and happen to like how the tree looked. Mike patted Kevin's and Jayden's backs "All right, eggnog for everyone!" while the guys went on ahead to the kitchen, Nariko watched as they left. Once seeing the guys head down the hall, the Yamada princess quietly made her way to the front door.

Little did she know as Nariko was putting on her coat, Jayden was watching her from the corner and thought "Just what is she up to?" Once covered up in her winter gear, the Yamada princess made her way outside with the red ranger quickly following after.

Out in the cold, snowy atmosphere Nariko trudged her way through the snow, making her way over to the snow covered garden. There she stood by the frozen pond, looking down at her icy reflection. Nariko sighed at this and thought "So much has happened this year…With Master Xandred awakening…The samurai team being brought together…My illness….The nighloks…Deker…It makes me wonder just what is my role in all this? Just what is my purpose other than being a damsel in distress princess who's the next heir to her clan, always having to be protected by her fiance and friends? Is it because I'm weak or not good enough? Maybe that's it then…"

Nariko let out a sad sigh at this thought and gazed at her reflection in sorrow, with a few tears running down her cheeks.

"Nariko?"

She quickly turned around and was surprised to find her fiance standing there in the snow "J-Jayden! What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing…I thought you were going to get some eggnog with Kevin, Mike and me."

"Y-Yeah…I'll get some in a minute…I just wanted to be out here for a bit…"

Noticing how her voice sounded, the red ranger immediately approached his fiance "What's wrong Nariko?"

She quickly turned away from him "It's nothing Jayden…"

"Like I'm going to believe that…"

Once reaching her, Jayden cupped his loved one's cheek and made her look at him. The red ranger immediately spotted the fallen tears "Nariko…You're crying…"

The Yamada princess pushed the red ranger's hand away and began wiping her cheeks "N-No I'm not!"

Jayden immediately grabbed Nariko's hands and cupped her face, gently wiping away her tears "You're not doing a good job lying to me, love…How come you're crying? And don't even start with it's nothing because that's not going to cut it."

"I've just been thinking…That's all…"

"Thinking about what?"

"This year…About what has happened…And how do I fit in all this…"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I…I don't belong here at all Jayden…"

"What makes you say that?"

"Think about it…What have I really done this whole year? Nothing, absolutely nothing!"

"That's not true Nariko."

The princess pulled the red ranger's hands off her face and turned away from him "Of course it's true Jayden! You and the other rangers are out there fighting Master Xandred and his nighloks while I'm here at the Shiba household doing absolutely nothing! God I'm so useless!"

Jayden grabbed her shoulders "No you're not useless Nariko, don't put yourself down like that."

"And yet here I am, next heir to a strong samurai clan being sheltered from danger when I'm supposed to face it in order to protect the innocent…I'm so pathetic…"

The red ranger frowned at this and made his fiance look at him "Listen to me Nariko…You're not pathetic nor are you useless. You're strong, very strong even when you were ill that never stopped you. Remember that time when Kevin left to go capture the swordfish zord while the other rangers and I got poisoned from that nighlok? Even though you were ill that didn't stop you from going out to deal with that nighlok yourself. Even at the time when you were kidnapped by Dayu, you remained calm when Dayu threatened to hurt you if Mia didn't tell us your false whereabouts. You told Mia not to do what Dayu said, not even once caring what would happen to you. You're not pathetic or useless at all Nariko…Out of all of us…You have a very strong and brave spirit, one that we all admire. It makes me proud to have you as my fiance and I look forward to the day when this is all over and we can finally marry each other."

The Yamada princess couldn't help but stare at her fiance in awe "Jayden…"

The red samurai ranger leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss, Nariko lightly blushed at this but slowly closed her eyes and returned the kiss. Jayden then wrapped his arms around his fiancé's waist and brought her closer to him, deepening the kiss. Slowly the two pulled away and stared into each other's eyes, the blush was still present on Nariko's cheeks as she saw the love and adoration in Jayden's eyes.

"Promise me you'll never think that way of yourself again." Said the red ranger

"I promise Jay…" said Nariko

She soon covered her mouth and sneezed, Jayden rubbed her back "Come on, let's get back inside before we get sick." "Yeah lets…"

Thus the couple made their way back inside the Shiba household to join up with Mia, Mike and Kevin in the kitchen.

The day soon progressed into the night time and everyone was making their way to bed. Inside Nariko's room, the princess was sitting in front of her mirror brushing her hair. She lightly hummed while running the brush through her hair when someone knocked on her door. Without even stopping her brushing, Nariko said "Come in!"

Her door opened to reveal Jayden behind it "Nariko…"

She stopped brushing her hair and looked at him "Oh Jayden…"

"Mind if I come in?"

"Course not, come in."

The red ranger stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, then made his way over to his fiance.

"So what brings you to my room at this time? I thought you would have been asleep already." Said Nariko

Jayden sat down on the princess' bed "I can't seem to sleep at all…Besides I wanted to see you…"

Nariko put her brush down on the table and made her way over to the bed, sitting right next to her red ranger "I bet you're excited that Christmas is tomorrow and that's why you can't seem to sleep."

Jayden chuckled a bit at this, then tucked some of Nariko's hair behind her ear "You know…Your hair is starting to get real long now."

She ran her hand through her locks "Yeah it is, isn't it? Should I cut it short then?"

The red ranger shook his head "No…I like your hair the way it is."

Nariko smiled at this and soon covered her mouth to yawn.

"I think it's getting close to that time where we go to bed." Said Jayden

Before he could get up from the bed, Nariko grabbed the red ranger's hand "Wait Jayden…"

"What is it Nariko?"

"Sleep here with me tonight Jayden, please?"

He smiled a bit and caressed the princess' cheek "Sure…Like I can say no to you."

With that said the couple got off the bed and pulled the covers back. Nariko was the first to climb into bed, followed by Jayden. He then pulled the covers over them and Nariko snuggled close to her fiance. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on her fiancé's chest, Jayden smiled at this and kissed her forehead. Soon the couple fell into a deep sleep, wrapped in each other's warm embrace.

The next morning, fresh new snow covered the grounds and the sun was shining brightly in the cloudless sky. Mike who happened to have spent the night in the living room was the first to awoke. Excitement filled him as the green ranger exclaimed loudly "It's Christmas! Wake up everybody! Santa came!"

While Mike began to check the presents and looked outside the window, the other rangers, Nariko and Ji entered the room with smiles on their face.

"Merry Christmas everyone!" told Ji

"Merry Christmas!" the group exclaimed and giving each other a big hug before turning their attention to the presents.

Ji began handing out all the presents that belonged to the rightful person and once all the gifts were passed out, everyone except for Mike began opening their presents.

Sadden by not receiving one present, the green ranger couldn't help but ask "Did Santa forget me?"

"Now wait…I think there's an envelope underneath the tree." Said Ji

Mike looked at him in confusion "An envelope, that's it?"

As the samurai mentor handed the green ranger the white envelope, the others gave each other knowing glances before turning their attention to Mike.

He opened the envelope and read the card that was inside "Go to the front door…"

The green ranger got up from his seat and went to the front door, upon opening it there in the yard was a green sports bike.

"No way!" exclaimed Mike

He then turned to his friends and hugged them tightly "Thanks guys so much!"

Kevin handed his fellow ranger a jacket "Here go for it."

"Have fun!" said Mia

Mike quickly put on his jacket and shoes then ran over to his new bike, riding off on it.

15 minutes passed and the remaining rangers, Nariko and Ji were gathered in the living room happily chatting and drinking some hot chocolate. When all of a sudden Mike came walking in taking off his jacket.

Surprised to see his sudden appearance Nariko said "Mike? I didn't hear your bike outside…Did you run out of gas?"

"No…I gave it away…"

His answer caught them all by surprise "What?"

"I saw these two guys at the park who had nothing at all…And it made me think about everything I had here…I wanted them to have something special." Explained the green ranger

Emily smiled at this and went over to her fellow ranger, giving him a hug "Mike…You're something else."

The others joined in on the hug and the rest of their day was filled with laughter and cheer as they spent the Christmas day with each other, deepening their family bond.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The day was beautiful with the sun shining high in the sky; in a field just outside the city were Kevin and Mia training with their weapons on mooger dummies. Meanwhile in the city was Mike skateboarding and Emily skating through the area, having some fun together. The yellow ranger smiled as she watched Mike do some skateboard tricks but soon realized where he was heading and gasped.

"Mike look out!" exclaimed Emily

The green ranger looked but was already too late as he ran into a rail; he flipped around and slid down the metal rail before halting.

"Just the way I planned it…" groaned Mike

"Hey Mike, over here!" called Emily, causing the green ranger to get off the railing and go over to her.

At the Shiba household Jayden was in the front yard practicing with his spin sword. Nariko was there also though she was sitting on the bench reading a book. Then Jayden's samuraizer began beeping, the red ranger immediately stopped his training and looked toward the sound.

He made his way over to the bench and grabbed his samuraizer; Nariko looked up from her book at this time to see her fiance answer the call. He listened to the person on the other line and firmly nodded "I'll be right there."

As he hung up, Nariko immediately asked her red ranger "What's wrong?"

"We've got a serious problem on our hands…"

"How serious is it?"

"You have to see it for yourself, come on."

Jayden grabbed his loved one's hand and led her into the Shiba household to change.

Meanwhile in the city Mike and Emily were joined by Kevin and Mia at a park, the four rangers gathered around a dark red puddle, frowning as they stared down upon it.

"I can't believe this is happening…" said Mia

Kevin took his attention off the red puddle just in time to see Jayden and Nariko walking over to them. The blue ranger quickly ran over to the couple with a bit of worry etched on his face "Jayden!"

"How bad is it?" questioned the red ranger

"You and Nariko are gonna have to take a look and judge for yourselves…"

With that said the three made their way over to Mia, Mike and Emily who were still gathered around the puddle. Both Jayden and Nariko got down on one knee to stare down at the dark red puddle.

"I was afraid this would happen…" muttered Jayden, he looked to his fiance "What do you think Nariko?"

She remained silent at this but grabbed a stick off the ground and stuck it into the dark red puddle. Just as it touched the dark red liquid, the stick was immediately set on fire. Nariko pulled the piece of wood away and inspected it.

"Definitely Sanzu river water…" announced the princess

"This is not good!" told Kevin

"We've seen the Netherworld break though our world before." Said Emily

Nariko stood up straight still looking at the burnt stick "We know…But this much water is really dangerous."

"And with pools like these, the nighlok can rehydrate without going back to the Sanzu River." Added Jayden

"Guys over here!" called Mia

The group immediately ran over to the where the pink ranger is and to their horror, they found a large pool of Sanzu river water.

"Oh no…Last time this happened, Mentor said that this was a sign that the nighlok were growing stronger." Said Kevin

"It gets worse, look!" exclaimed Mia who pointed at red printed tracks leading away from the pool of Sanzu river water.

Thus Mike, Mia, Emily and Nariko began investigating the tracks that led them to a walkway. Jayden and Kevin followed after the four, discussing about gaps that are leaking in Sanzu river water right after the red ranger had called Ji and informed him what's happening.

"Then we'll cover those cracks up too." Told Jayden to Kevin

Mike who was studying one footprint announced out loud "These foot prints are definitely nighlok."

"But no gap sensor went off." Mia pointed out

"I don't think he came through a gap recently…This nighlok has been here awhile…" said Nariko

Kevin thought for a moment and exclaimed "And using those pools of Sanzu water from drying out!"

"Come on let's keep following the nighlok's tracks and by doing this we can catch up with this monster." Said Jayden

Their trek soon led them through a forest where Mike was leading the group the whole way. He soon stopped and kneeled down studying the ground. The green ranger ran his fingers through the dirt before rubbing them together.

Jayden watched his fellow teammate for a bit and asked "Have you lost the trail?"

Mike remained silent for a bit then immediately looked off in one direction "This way."

Impressed by this Jayden nodded in approval "Good job Mike."

Kevin nodded in agreement "Yeah these foot prints disappeared a long time ago."

Once again Mike led the group soon coming out of the forest to find a neighborhood right before them.

"The forest is my turf, I can still track him." Told Mike

Suddenly they heard people screaming and a loud roar, Jayden frowned at this "I think we've just found him."

The red ranger then turned to his fiance "Nariko…I want you to return to the household…See if you can help Antonio program the black box. Like I told Mentor earlier we'll most likely need soon."

"All right I'll do that, you and your team be careful."

"Always are."

And with that the rangers ran into the neighborhood while the Yamada princess made her way back to the Shiba household.

There upon entering the yard Nariko found Ji pacing back and forth upon the yard, she quickly approached the samurai mentor "Ji!"

He stopped his pacing and looked at the call of his name "Oh Nariko! Good you're back."

"Where's Antonio?"

"Inside the household, he sealed himself in the dojo to work on the black box."

"I'm gonna go and help him."

"You do that, maybe with you by his side Antonio will be able to finally program the box."

Not wasting another minute, Nariko quickly rushed inside the Shiba household. There she burst into the dojo where her childhood friend was currently working in "Antonio!"

The gold ranger jumped and almost dropped his morpher, after being surprised by the princess' sudden appearance. Once having a firm grip on his morpher, Antonio turned to Jayden's fiance "Oh Nariko you're here! Ji told me you were coming to help me."

"How's it going so far?"

"It pretty good, I think I'm getting close."

Suddenly the gold ranger fell to his knees due to using his symbol powers. Nariko immediately ran to his side "Antonio!"

She helped the ranger stand back up "You need to pace yourself…Don't use too much of your symbol power or you'll collapse from exhaustion."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks for the advice Nariko."

"No problem."

Antonio rolled his shoulders for a bit before holding out his morpher towards the black box, which happened to be on a stand in the middle of the room. He pressed a few buttons on his samuraizer and soon symbol power shot of his morpher, hitting the black box. The box began to glow and levitate for a bit before it ceased.

Antonio sighed at this and began pacing a bit "Come on…I can do this…"

Minutes passed and the rangers have returned after trying to defeat the nighlok: Arachnitor who escaped during the battle. Currently the rangers and Mentor Ji were gathered in the living room, looking over the city map.

"There are many spots where the Sanzu river is seeping into our world…And it looks like Master Xandred is planning to flood the Earth…" said Ji

"We'll have to work as a team even harder!" declared Kevin

"The nighlok have tried to ambush us before but this time it's our turn." Said Jayden

At this time Nariko left the confines of the dojo and made her way into the living room. She was a bit surprise to find the rangers there with the samurai mentor "Oh…I didn't knew you guys came back…"

The rangers looked at her and Jayden immediately went over to his fiance "Nariko…How's Antonio doing on the black box?"

"He's working hard but he hasn't finished programming it yet."

"I see…"

"What are you doing right now?"

"We're just planning to ambush the nighlok like they tried to do it to us."

"Yeah but how Jayden?" asked Emily

The red ranger turned from the Yamada princess and went over to the city map. After studying it for a moment, Jayden circled one spot on the map "He'll need to hydrate so we'll ambush him at the source…I may need your help Nariko…"

Much later the group had arrived at a construction site from there they decided to split up and head for the three major spots of Sanzu water.

"All right Kevin and I will head north of the site, Mike, Mia and Emily you head east while Nariko heads west." Instructed Jayden

All of them nodded and began heading to their destination, but before Nariko could leave Jayden grabbed her hand "Wait Nariko…"

She turned and looked at her fiance "What is it Jayden?"

"You be careful."

"Oh Jayden…You know that I always am."

"I know…And if you run into that nighlok, contact me right away understand?"

"Of course."

"You have your cell phone with you?"

The princess pulled out the electronic device and showed it to the red ranger "Right here."

"Good…Remember be safe for me."

"Don't worry so much Jayden, I'll be fine."

And with that Nariko leaned up and pecked Jayden on the lips before walking away, the red ranger smiled a bit as he watched her leave. Once she was gone from his sight, Jayden began making his way to where Kevin is.

He soon found the blue ranger crouched down behind a pillar, watching the large spot of Sanzu water. Jayden went over and stood by his fellow ranger's side "Anything?"

"No nothing yet…Jayden do you really think Nariko will be all right by herself?"

"I know where you're going with this and yes…Even though I really don't like the fact that she is by herself, Nariko is a strong person and is able to protect herself."

And while the two rangers kept an eye out for Arachnitor, little did they know Octoroo was hiding behind a pillar spying on the two.

The squid like nighlok, softly chuckled "Hehehe…They think they're going to ambush him but they're in for the surprise."

Octoroo then made his way to where Nariko is and placed two dark red scrolls on the wall in different places "Knowing the rangers, they'll immediately come here once learning that the Yamada princess is in danger. Walk pass these and say good bye to your morphing powers, rangers!"

10 minutes passed and there was no sign of Arachnitor, Jayden paced a bit "Where is that nighlok?"

Kevin sighed a bit then wondered "Could we be wrong?"

"The map definitely identify this site…But that just means this general area…We saw this pool and assumed!"

"Of course, this place is so big there could be another pool!"

"Or he could be at one of the pools, the others are at…I better call Nariko and make sure she's all right…Kevin call Mike and see if he and the girls are ok too then go on ahead and see if you can find another pool."

"You got it Jayden!"

As the blue ranger left to do what he was told, Jayden pulled out his samuraizer and contacted his fiance. He listened as it ringed two times before Nariko answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Nariko it's me…Any sign of that nighlok?"

"No not really…I don't think that nighlok is coming to this spot Jayden."

"All right I want you to make your way back to me, I'll be waiting at the center of the site."

"All right I'm on my-"

Suddenly the red ranger heard a loud roar on the other line and he immediately became alert "Nariko! What was that sound?"

"I take back what I said Jayden, that nighlok is here and he's standing a few feet away from me."

"Get out of there Nariko, get out of there now!"

His heart dropped as Jayden heard his fiancé scream on the other line "Nariko? Nariko?"

He heard a click on the other line and was greeted to the sound of the dial tone, Jayden quickly contacted the blue ranger's samuraizer "Kevin it's Jayden, look I have no time to explain. That nighlok showed up right where Nariko is at. Something has happened to her and I'm making my where there now, you and the other rangers should too."

Right before Kevin could get a word in, Jayden immediately hanged up and ran towards Nariko's location.

Upon arriving at the location the red ranger quickly hid behind some concrete blocks and watched as Arachnitor was hydrating itself in the Sanzu water. Jayden quickly scanned the area for Nariko and soon spotted her lying on the ground. The princess struggled in the spider cocoon that she was wrapped in, hoping to break free somehow. Kevin and the others showed up at this time, quickly joining their leader behind the concrete blocks.

"I'm glad that you guys are here." Admitted Jayden

"We came as fast as we could." Said Kevin

"Glad that you did, that nighlok has Nariko hostage. Currently he's rehydrating himself with the Sanzu water here, Nariko is a few feet away from the nighlok but she's bound by spider web. Kevin you and the others will distract that nighlok while I'll go and rescue Nariko understand?"

"Completely, you can count on us Jayden!"

"Good let's go!"

Kevin, Mike, Mia and Emily quickly came out from behind the concrete blocks and charged at Arachnitor. It didn't take long for the nighlok to be distracted by the four rangers attacking him, once seeing that he was distracted Jayden darted over to where his fiance is.

He kneeled by her side and began pulling at the spider web binds "Nariko are you all right?"

"Yeah I'm fine…Sorry Jay that nighlok caught me by surprise."

"It's not your fault, at least you're not harmed."

The red ranger became frustrated as he was struggling with the binds "Ugh…They're coming undone…"

Jayden then summoned his spin sword "Hold very still Nariko."

She did as she was told and with one quick swipe, the red ranger cut the binds. Once they were off Jayden helped his fiance up. At this time the other rangers came running over to the couple after trying to deal with Arachnitor.

"Sorry we couldn't distract him any longer." Said Emily

"It's all right, that gave me enough time to free Nariko." Told Jayden

Soon the nighlok stood a few feet away from the group, growling in anger. Suddenly Arachnitor was joined by many moogers that surrounded the rangers and Nariko.

"Don't worry Jayden, we've got your back." Said Mike

"And so do I." declared Nariko

From out of nowhere Jayden pulled out a pair of sais and handed them to his fiance "I was going to give you these as a present and to use later on, but right now seems like a really good time to use them."

"Jayden…Thank you…"

The red ranger smiled a bit then looked to his team "All right let's do this!"

All five of them pulled out their samuraizers to morph, as they did somehow they couldn't morph into their ranger forms. They looked around and at each other in confusion.

"What's wrong?" wondered Mia

"This hasn't happened before…Something is blocking us from morphing." Said Kevin

They all looked around for a bit until Nariko spotted one of the dark red scrolls on the wall and pointed "Look there! You guys crossed an evil barrier!"

Jayden summoned his spin sword once more "Kevin and I will handle the barriers…"

He then looked at Nariko, Mike, Emily and Mia "You guys be careful…There's a lot of Sanzu river water here and it's dangerous stuff."

They nodded and thus Jayden and Kevin darted away, skipping over some of the Sanzu water in order to reach the barrier scrolls, while Nariko, Mike, Emily and Mia quickly split up just as the moogers began attacking.

Nariko quickly ducked as a mooger swing its sword at her, and then blocked another mooger's sword with her sais. The mooger pushed the princess back and she immediately stopped in her tracks as she was right near a pool of Sanzu water.

The Yamada princess blocked two sets of moogers' swords and the force they were putting on them caused her to slowly go down on her knees. It soon came to the point where she was leaning back towards the Sanzu water. Nariko grunted as she tried to push back, but proved to be no use as she continued to near the water.

Jayden saw this and quickened his pace to the barrier scroll "Hang on Nariko we're almost there!" "I'm trying!"

Soon the red ranger reached the barrier scroll and looked to find Kevin reaching the other, Jayden gave a nod to the blue ranger and at the same time, the two rangers destroyed the two barrier scrolls. Once rid of, the team morphed into their ranger forms and began fighting the moogers with no problem.

Jayden quickly made his way over to his fiance and knocked the moogers away with his spin sword. He then grabbed Nariko's arm and pulled her to him, wrapping a protective arm around his fiance "Are you hurt Nariko?" "My hair got a bit burnt from touching the Sanzu water, other than that I'm fine."

Suddenly from out of nowhere Arachnitor showed up and attacked the couple, Jayden quickly push Nariko out of the way to take the blow "Nariko look out!" The blow hit him straight on and the red ranger flying back a few feet.

"Jayden!" exclaimed the princess, she quickly blocked Arachnitor's attacks as the nighlok started coming after her. Just by seeing this Jayden struggled to get back on his feet "N-Nariko!"

Once the red ranger was up, he darted over Arachnitor attacking the creature's back "You stay away from her!" as the nighlok stumbled a few feet back, Jayden took this time to go over to his fiance "Nariko!" "I'm fine Jay, what about you?" "I'll be fine…" Kevin and the other rangers quickly joined the couple and stood in front of them.

"Don't worry Jayden we got your back!" said Mike

Unfortunately Arachnitor caught the rangers off guard by using its demonic powers on them. The force of the power caused the four rangers to fall upon their backs, groaning in pain.

"Oh…He's too strong!" groaned Kevin

"Oh this isn't good!" admitted Mike

Jayden quickly left Nariko's side and stood in front of his team "Stay strong!"

From out of nowhere a voice exclaimed "Guys I did it!"

All of them looked to find Antonio running over to them in his ranger form, with the black box in hand.

"Huh, Antonio?" wondered Jayden

"Gold is good, but right now black is better!" told the gold ranger

He stopped in front of the red ranger handing him the black box and a power disk "The black box is ready!"

Jayden took the box and power disk from his friend "Let's see what it can do." He inserted the disk into the black box and activated it. The box glowed a bit and from it, the power formed a white sleeveless jacket upon Jayden's body.

The red ranger then attached the black box to his spin sword "Nighlok you're about to meet the super samurai!" Jayden then casually strolled towards Arachnitor and some moogers.

The moogers charged at the ranger leader, who easily took them down without a problem. Nariko couldn't help but watch in awe at how graceful her fiance fought "Amazing…"

With the power of the black box, Jayden was able to defeat Arachnitor with it though it didn't end there. The nighlok soon came back in its second form and automatically the rangers summoned their zords, forming their samurai megazord. Joined by Antonio's clawzord and again with the powers from the black box, Jayden and the others were able to defeat Arachnitor once and for all.

10 minutes later the rangers and Nariko were still at the construction site, covering all the Sanzu river pools with rocks. Soon Emily had covered the last Sanzu water pool with her earth symbol powers and joined up with the others, having Mike and Mia by her side.

"Good job Emily." Said Mia

"Yeah good job Em." Said Mike

The yellow ranger tiredly sighed "I don't think I have an ounce of symbol power left…"

Mike patted her back "Good thing that's the last leak."

Kevin crossed his arms and with a serious face said "For now."

Antonio lightly nudge the blue ranger's side "Oh man…Don't be such a downer, we've just won!"

"Yes…But I don't like the fact that the nighlok found a way to mutate." Admitted Nariko

Jayden wrapped his arm around her waist "The threat is growing, but so are we…Thanks to our man Antonio. We'll just have to keep getting better and stronger…We have to be…Super samurai." The whole group smiled and each other and nodded in agreement, from there they began their trek home in order to prepare for the upcoming battles with the more difficult nighloks.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

It happened to be another day at the Shiba household filled with training, currently in the front yard Mike and Kevin were practicing with their spin swords while Emily was practicing her symbol powers. Kevin watched as Mike easily sliced a whole watermelon in half, he nodded in approval before showing off to Mike by cutting a coconut in two in midair.

As they continued their training Emily had finished up writing a symbol on the easel, suddenly from the symbol a huge boulder appeared, she gasp and quickly ducked under the table as the rock began rolling towards Kevin and Mike "Watch out!"

The guys looked and quickly backed up, trying to stop the boulder with their spin swords. Though it was no use, the guys were soon pushed off to the side by the rock which soon stopped once running into the stone bench.

Emily came running over to Kevin and Mike, she stopped and sheepishly looked at them "Sorry…"

"No problem Em! Man…How cool would these be if they cut through stone like Deker's sword?" said Mike as he admired his spin sword

A bit out of breath from the ordeal Kevin said "Just be glad we haven't met anything that will require that type of power."

"True…Still would be cool…"

Meanwhile in the city Jayden, Nariko and Mia were at the marketplace gathering groceries. Currently Jayden was waiting outside a store messing with a candy machine while Nariko and Mia went to buy the food. Soon the girls came out with only Mia carrying a bag of groceries, the red ranger immediately abandoned the machine and approached the girls "Hey Mia, can I take that for you?"

"Sure, thanks!"

As he took the bag, Jayden took a look at the food inside "Oysters…Chocolate sauce…Brussels sprouts…You sure you got everything you need for this recipe, Mia?"

"Sure am!"

"It sounds uh…Interesting…"

"The secret is to mixing ingredients at just the right way."

While Mia began walking away the couple shared a look before Jayden looked the other way muttering "Explain that to the paramedics…"

Nariko looked at her fiance in disbelief then sharply elbowed him in the side just as Mia turned around looking at the two in confusion "What?"

"Ah! O-Oh! Nothing…" Jayden quickly said, Mia simply just shrugged her shoulder and continued her walking. Once she was out of earshot the red ranger turned to his fiance "What was that for?"

"That was for what you said!"

"You didn't have to elbow me that hard!"

"Well then you shouldn't have said it out loud!"

And with that Nariko walked off in the same direction as Mia, Jayden sighed a bit before following after his fiance.

10 minutes passed and the three were still making their way back to the household. Noticing how quiet the Yamada princess was being, Mia couldn't help but asked "Hey Nariko…Are you ok?"

"Yeah…I'm fine…"

"You sure? You've been really quiet ever since we left the household."

"Yes I'm sure…Just thinking that's all…"

"About what?"

"Just…Something…"

Jayden looked at his fiance in concern and before he could ask her, his samuraizer went off to which he immediately answered. The red ranger listened for a moment then nodded "Got it!"

He looked to the girls "A nighlok has appeared…Nariko-"

"I'll be fine getting back home Jayden…You and the others go take care of that nighlok."

"Nariko…"

The Yamada heir simply turned away and walked off leaving Mia and Jayden to stare after her. The pink ranger looked to her leader "Jayden…"

"I'm sure she's fine Mia…Just give Nariko her space, I assume she wants to be alone right now."

"If you say so Jayden…" thus the two rangers set off towards the location of the nighlok that had appeared.

Meanwhile back at the household Nariko had just walked in only to have Ji approached her "Nariko I'm glad that you're back I just…" he trailed off once noticing the look on the princess' face "Nariko…Are you ok?"

"Yes I'm fine Ji…Look I'm gonna be out in the garden and would very much appreciate it if no one bothers me."

"Yes…But of course…Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yes I'm sure…Now if you'll excuse me…"

And with that the Yamada heir brushed pass the samurai mentor who couldn't help but stare after her in worry.

Minutes later the rangers had returned to the household after having some difficulty dealing with the nighlok named Armadeevil, which had a tough shell to crack and escaped during the battle.

"Nothing gets through his armor! How are we going to fight him?" questioned Mike

"We'll find a way! He must have some weakness…" told Jayden

"May I remind you that none of our attacks damaged him at all?"

Kevin looked at Mike when he said that then looked away and said to himself "Not one of them…"

"Like Jayden said…There must be some crack in his defenses." Told Ji as Jayden, Mike, Emily and Mia took a seat in the living room.

After thinking for a bit, he soon thought up of something and exclaimed "That's it!"

Jayden looked at the blue ranger "What? You have an idea?"

"Yeah! I think I crack the code…We just need the right ranger…With the right attack…In the right order! We'll beat him as a team!"

"Speaking of team…Where's Antonio?" wondered Emily

Thus the ranger team began waiting around, reading books while Ji was trying to contact Antonio. After dozens of tries Ji finally but his cellphone away "I wonder what he's gotten himself into this time…"

Kevin shut his book at this "Seriously…That guy is a trouble magnet!"

"Guys…He may seem a jokester but Antonio takes this stuff seriously. He wouldn't just ignore our calls…He could be in trouble…" said Emily

Soon noticing that his fiance was missing, Jayden looked to the samurai mentor "Ji…Where's Nariko?"

"She's out in the garden."

"What is she doing out there by herself?"

"I'm not sure…But she told me she doesn't want to be disturbed at all."

"That's a first…"

The red ranger then began making his leave from the room, Ji called after him "Jayden where are you going?"

"To check on Nariko."

"But she said she didn't want to be disturbed."

"That's not going to stop me from seeing her."

Out in the garden Nariko had her sais with her and was practicing with them. While she was practicing, little sparks of lightning slowly began to circle the blades. "Almost there…Got to get this one technique down…" thought Nariko

Soon the blades were surrounded by lightning and thus the Yamada princess made a swinging motion with her weapons, the lightning left the blades and formed two lightning spheres that traveled very far before disappearing. Nariko smiled a bit at her success "I did it…A bit sloppy though…"

"Nariko?"

She gasped and turned around to find the red samurai ranger standing there "Jayden!" the Yamada princess quickly hid her sais behind her back "I didn't know you were back."

"We've been back for quite some time…What are you doing out here by yourself?"

"Oh just practicing with the sais you gave me."

"How come you didn't want anyone to disturb you?"

"Jayden you know that I don't like being disturbed when I'm training."

"True…But you don't mind when I'm watching you practice."

Before Nariko could say anymore, the gap sensor went off in the household. Jayden looked to the building then back at his fiance who gave a small smile "You should get going."

"We're not finished here, when I get back we're resuming our talk."

And with that said the red ranger took his leave from the household with his team following. Once he was gone from sight, Nariko slowly lifted her left sleeve that happened to be covering her hand to reveal a burn mark that she received during her practice, the Yamada princess gazed at her hand for a bit before quickly making her way into the household.

At the city Armadeevil had showed up again to create more fear, the nighlok was having a blast but to his dismay the samurai power rangers showed up to stop him.

"You fools again?" said Armadeevil

"Yeah but this time we're shutting you down hard!" told Mike

"Ha! You just proved how foolish you are thinking you could win!"

The nighlok quickly attacked the rangers who were completely caught off guard by this and were thrown upon their backs. Just as Armadeevil was about to roll towards the fallen rangers to hurt them more, he stopped in his tracks once a great shock to his shell.

The nighlok quickly turned around and growled "Who did that?"

Right above him, upon a bridge stood a hooded masked figure that simply stared down. The rangers looked up at the figure in wonder. "Hey…Who is that?" asked Mia

"Not sure…But it seems like they're on our side…" said Jayden

"You there! Who are you?" demanded Armadeevil

The figure gave no reply but brought out their sais that were immediately surrounded by streaks of lightning. The person then made a swinging motion with the sais and from the blades two spheres of lightning shot out towards Armadeevil. The attack hit the nighlok straight who cried out in pain.

The hooded figure then jumped down and began casually walking away. Not liking at what's happening Armadeevil curled up into a ball and began rolling towards the person "You're not getting away that easily!"

Seeing this as an opportunity Jayden got up "It's time for Kevin's plan, phase one!"

The other rangers quickly got up on their feet and began Kevin's plan.

"First we'll use his own speed against him!" said Mike

Both he and Emily quickly got in Armadeevil's path towards the hooded figure and used their symbol powers to create a barrier. Doing so, the nighlok ran into the barrier which sent him upon his back "Oh! That's stone cold rangers!"

"Now phase two!" told Jayden who pulled out his spin sword along with Mia and used their powers upon Armadeevil.

The nighlok once again rolled up in a sphere to protect him from the rangers' attacks and chuckled at their attempts "Ha, ha, ha! That actually tickled a bit!"

Jayden then looked to Kevin "Now phase three!"

The blue ranger pulled out his samuraizer "On it!" and began writing out a symbol "You still can't see the writing on the wall, can you nighlok? Time to make you come out of your shell! Tidal wave!"

A huge wave of water appeared and headed towards Armadeevil, immediately soaking the nighlok in water.

Kevin put his samuraizer away "That should do it!"

"Ha, ha, ha! All you did was clean my indestructible shell! Thanks for the wash!" chuckled Armadeevil

"You sure that's what we did?" questioned Jayden

Suddenly Armadeevil felt his indestructible shell cracking and began to panic "What? Ah, my shell it's cracking!"

"Your armor may be able to handle any single attacks…" said Jayden

"But with the single attacks in the right order, even your armor isn't strong enough!" finished Kevin

"First we soften your shell, then we raised its temperature with our intense heat and wind attacks and last the water quickly cooled your hot shell making it brittle. So now it's time to break your invincible armor for good!" said the red ranger

"Impossible!" cried Armadeevil

And with that the rangers charged the nighlok head on, not knowing the hooded figure was still there watching from behind a tree. Armadeevil was soon destroyed but immediately came back in his large form. The rangers wasted no time forming their megazord and defeating the nighlok once and for all. At last the battle was over and done with, the rangers had returned to the ground with their folding zords going back to their small size.

"Hey guys…Who was tat hooded figure that helped us?" asked Mike

"No clue…But did you see that move with the lightning? That was pretty impressive and powerful!" said Kevin

Jayden stood there in thought for a moment "Those sais…They looked exactly like Nariko's…Could the hooded figure be her?"

The red samurai ranger then looked to his team "Come on you guys let's head back to the household to rest."

At the Shiba household, upon entering the building Jayden immediately went over to the samurai mentor "Ji…Where's Nariko?"

"She's been in her room sleeping, I just checked on her a few minutes ago."

"Really?"

"Yes…What is it Jayden?"

"Uh…Nothing…I'm going to go check on Nariko myself."

Thus the red ranger quickly made his way to his fiancé's room, where he found the Yamada princess in her bed peacefully sleeping. Jayden quietly made his way over and kneel by her bed side, gently stroking her cheek "Nariko?"

She gave out a small groan and slowly opened her eyes "H-Huh, Jayden?"

"Hey…There's something I want to ask you…"

"What is it?"

"Were you there to stop the nighlok from attacking us?"

"What are you talking about? I was mostly here sleeping…"

"I see…Well I was just wondering anyway…"

Jayden stroked her cheek once more "Well I'm gonna leave so you can go back to sleep…We'll continue our talk from earlier after you nap ok?"

"Sounds good to me."

With that the red ranger leaned down and kissed his fiance on the forehead before taking his leave from the room. As he closed the door behind him, Nariko listened carefully to Jayden's fading footsteps before letting out a relieved sigh "Oh man…That was cutting it close…I don't like the fact that I lied to Jayden but…I'm starting to have my doubts if I'm really good enough for him…I want to protect him just like how he protects me…Which he mustn't know what I'm doing…"

Nariko then looked at her left bandaged hand "I just hope he understands my reason for keeping this a secret from him…"


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

It happened to a beautiful day in the city, at a local flea market Mike and Emily brought Nariko along to meet up with Antonio for a picnic. It didn't take long for them to find the gold ranger at his cook stand. Mike and the girls took their seats at a table Antonio happened to set up for them.

"What a beautiful day to have a picnic!" said Emily

"Yeah thanks for inviting us Antonio!" said Mike

The gold ranger smiled at his friends and began preparing the food "It's my pleasure but it's going to be your pleasure once you taste my habanero, hollandaise heron burger. A little bit of this, a little bit of that."

"Yeah! I'll try some of that!" said Mike

"Can I help with something Antonio?" asked Nariko

While cooking the fish, the gold ranger nodded "Yeah could you pass me the pepper shaker right in front of you?"

"Sure."

Just as she reached and grabbed the shaker, Antonio immediately noticed the Yamada heir's bandaged hand "Nariko…What happened to your hand?"

She froze for a second before quickly handing the pepper shaker to Antonio and hiding her hand behind her back "Nothing!"

The gold ranger frowned at this and reached over grabbing her wrist in order to get a good look at her hand "Nariko tell me what happened to your hand."

She pulled her hand out of his grasp "Just had a little accident one day at the household."

"Does Jayden know about your injury?"

"No…"

"Nariko…You should at least let him know."

"Antonio is right Nariko…Jayden should at least know that you got hurt." Said Emily

"It's only an injury, it's not something important he should worry about!" snapped Nariko

The three rangers couldn't help but stare at the Yamada princess in surprise by her sudden outburst. Noticing their looks Nariko sighed in frustration "Look…I'm sorry for snapping at you Emily…It's just that…"

The yellow ranger smiled and rubbed Nariko's back to comfort her "It's all right…You have your reason for not telling Jayden…And you don't have to tell him right away but just at least promise me that you will when you're ready?"

"I will…I'm sorry guys but right now I'm really not in the mood to eat, I'm gonna head back to the household that is if you guys don't mind…"

Mike smiled and shook his head "Not at all, I hope your hand gets better Nariko."

"Thanks Mike…See you guys later."

The Yamada heir stood up from her seat and hugged all three of her friends before taking her leave from the market. Though just as she left Antonio noticed a guy doing a strange pose "Whoa…What's up with that guy?"

Then Mike spotted a biker also doing a strange pose "Maybe they're doing yoga…"

Soon more and more people began doing strange poses, not liking the look of things Emily stood up from her seat "Guys…I think there's something wrong."

Mike also stood up from his seat and began following the yellow ranger, just as Antonio was about to follow after his friends he suddenly stopped in his tracks and slowly laid down on the ground, laying perfectly still.

Amongst the strange posed people stood a cat-like nighlok by the name of Switchbeast who evilly chuckled at the sight "Ha, ha, ha, ha! With one zap I've trapped their spirits into useless junk and the power rangers are next! So…Who else can I zap?"

Before Switchbeast could do more damage, Mike and Emily showed up to stop the nighlok. "Emily go help those people, I've got this." Told Mike

"Right!" and the yellow ranger darted over to the closest person, shaking their arm. Though they didn't move at all or respond, Emily looked back at Mike "They're like the others! They're in a trance or something!"

The green ranger focused his attention on the nighlok and pointed his spin sword at the creature "What did you do to them? Wake them up!"

"Eh…I don't think so!"

Mike charged at Switchbeast with his sword raised high "I said wake them up!"

The nighlok quickly blocked Mike's attacks along with Emily's who immediately joined the fight. The two rangers were then sent back by Switchbeast who scoffed at this "Too easy!" the nighlok then sent out some tail like whip with a pointed tip towards Emily and Mike only for it be stopped by Kevin and Mia showing up.

"Surprise!"

Switchbeast quickly turned around to be hit by Jayden's spin sword and stumbled back a few feet. The red ranger charged after the nighlok, attacking him head on. Switchbeast immediately blocked the ranger's attack "I think it's time for a change!" the creature then got Jayden with its pointed whip right in the chest.

"Jayden!" exclaimed Mike

He and the others were about to go help their leader when Switchbeast aimed an attack to them "Switch blast!" the attack made the group stop in their tracks, thus giving the nighlok a chance to send out another pointed whip to a gnome "Time to make a switch!" with his powers Switchbeast was able to switch Jayden's soul into the gnome.

The red ranger cried out in pain and powered down, his cry soon faded and Jayden went into a pose immediately standing still. The rangers quickly ran over to their leader "Jayden!"

"Is he ok?" asked Kevin

Mike shook the red ranger's shoulder "Jayden wake up!"

Switchbeast laughed and began making his way over to the gnome "Ha, ha, ha! Switchbeast you've done it again! Now it's time to finish him off, just one blow and the red ranger is history!"

Once standing in front of the garden gnome Switchbeast raised his weapon up high, ready to attack. Mike saw this and darted over, quickly blocking the nighlok's attack "History isn't my favorite subject!" "Well then let me school you!"

Mike quickly dodges the nighlok attack who then went after Kevin and Mia as they joined the fight "In 1492 I took out the rangers pink and blue!" Switchbeast then pushed the two rangers back hard and hit them with his switch blast. Kevin and Mia flew back, crashing into some stacked boxes.

"It's time for another switch!" declared Switchbeast which he immediately did, Emily quickly charged at the nighlok "Oh no you don't!"

Switchbeast easily dodged the yellow ranger's attack but stumbled a few feet back, grabbing his chest "Oh no! Dried out already? I need Sanzu River water to recharge, this isn't over yet rangers!" and with that said the nighlok made his escape through the gap.

"You won't get away next time!" declared Emily who then went over to where the blue and pink ranger landed "Kevin, Mia!"

Mike took a good look at the damage Switchbeast caused "All those people are frozen…" he then looked to the garden gnome "And that nighlok thought that destroying the gnome would destroy Jayden…He must've switch Jayden's soul into the gnome! Oh no Jayden, man that's messed up! Nariko is not going to like this one bit…"

Back at the household after spending some time finding the objects that their friends' souls were trapped in, Mike and Emily brought the items back along with their friends' bodies in turn informing Nariko and Ji on what happened.

Emily set the garden gnome on the stand and began lightly tapping it, then waved her hand in front of its face "Do you think that they're awake in there?"

"We're awake, we hear you!" cried Jayden, Mia, Kevin and Antonio though their cries were not heard by Mike, Emily, Ji and Nariko.

Ji observed the rangers' bodies "So this nighlok switches people's spirits into objects."

Emily nodded "Yeah and the victim's body take the shape of the object."

"Why can't you hear us?" questioned Jayden

"At least we can still hear each other." Antonio pointed out

"Back and forth…Back and forth…Who knew being a fan would be so boring?" sighed Mia

"Boring? If this thing doesn't stop soon I think I'm going to be sick!" groaned Kevin as his soul was stuck in the ballerina body of a music box.

"What should we do Mike?" asked Emily

The green ranger examined his friends' bodies and thought for a bit "Hmm…Let me see…So the monster tried to destroy the gnome…That nighlok tried to smash the gnome after Jayden's spirit was switched into it. I think if the object gets destroyed…The person does too…"

"All those people! We have to save them!"

"But how do we figure what they turned into?"

"You guys have to try…Or those no hope for any of them." Said Ji

"Perhaps if you defeat the nighlok then everyone will be free." Told Nariko

"Then we'll have to train hard till the nighlok returns." Said Emily

Mike nodded at this "Sounds like a plan."

Minutes passed and Nariko returned to living room after tending to the flowers in the garden. She immediately stopped in her tracks once seeing a tutu upon Kevin's body. The Yamada princess burst out laughing at the sight, the blue ranger looked at her in disbelief "Nariko don't laugh at that! Oh! When I get back in my body, Mike is so going to get it!"

"Oh come on, you look kind of cute!" teased Mia

"Cute?"

Nariko's laughter died down and she went over to the garden gnome "Oh I hope you're all right in there Jayden…"

The red ranger smiled at his fiancé's concern "Don't worry Nariko I am."

He soon became concern himself once spotting Nariko's bandaged hand as she began brushing some dust off the gnome "Nariko…"

"Jayden what's wrong?" asked Mia

"Nariko, she's hurt!"

"How do you know?" asked Kevin

"Because I see her left hand all bandaged up! I'm just wondering how she got hurt…"

"Oh…So you saw…" said Antonio

"Wait…You mean you knew Antonio? How come you didn't tell me?"

"Jay calm down! I just found about Nariko's injury today! All she told Mike, Emily and me was that she had a little accident at the household one day and that's all she told us."

"But why didn't she tell me?"

"She said it wasn't something important for you to worry about…"

"Nariko…"

The Yamada heir quickly hid her bandaged hand with her kimono sleeve just as Ji came walking in "Hello Nariko." "Hello Ji." "Checking on the others?" "Yes."

As he began to leave the room, Ji glanced at Kevin and did a double take as he saw the tutu on the blue ranger's body. Nariko saw this and turned away quietly snickering, Ji continued his way out of the room when he stopped in his tracks. The samurai mentor made a disgusted face "Ugh…What is that smell?"

Nariko looked at the samurai mentor in wonder and soon made a disgusted face too as she smelled something in the air "Ugh! I agree with you Ji, what is that smell?"

Both she and Ji made their way over to Antonio's body and the fish his spirit was trapped in. Ji picked up the plate of fish and stared at it, along with Nariko.

"Hey it's not my fault I'm a fish out of water." Said Antonio

"I'll put him in the refrigerator before he spoils." Told Ji

"Sounds good to me." Said Nariko

Thus the samurai mentor ran off with the plate of fish in his hands, Nariko was about to make her way back to her room when the gap sensor went off. She went over to the coffee table to look at the city's map. Once obtaining the nighlok's location she made her way to the front yard where she met up with Ji, Mike and Emily.

As she informed the two remaining rangers on the location, Ji held out the black box to the green ranger "Mike before you go I think you're going to need this."

"The black box? Ji…Nariko…I'm not sure if I can handle this…"

"You can do it Mike…We know you can." Said Nariko

The green ranger reluctantly took the black box from Ji's hand and smiled a bit "All right…I have a plan but it's pretty risky and a little bit crazy."

Emily smiled at this "Sounds like a Mike plan, what is it?"

"All right here's what we do…"

Soon Mike and Emily left the household, making their way to the city to meet up with Switchbeast. It turns out Mike's plan was to get himself switched into the nighlok's body and to their luck they managed to do that. Now in control with Switchbeast's body, Emily and Mike messed with the nighlok for a bit by transferring the creature's soul into a soccer ball.

The yellow ranger kicked the ball around for a bit before squeezing it real hard. Having enough of the torture Switchbeast agreed to show the two rangers how to switch everyone back to their bodies. Being switched back into Mike's body, Switchbeast used the ranger's sword and attacked his own nighlok body in the chest. By doing so immediately everyone that the nighlok switched went back to their rightful bodies.

At the household Nariko was back in the living room reading a book when she suddenly heard screaming. The book she was reading flew out of her hands as the princess jumped in fright from the sound. Nariko turned around to find Antonio to be the one screaming and touching his face, she quickly went over to his side "Antonio!"

Kevin, Mia and Jayden immediately joined the princess' side once returning to their bodies.

"Buddy you're ok!" told the red ranger

The gold ranger then scurried off having the others quickly follow after him. Antonio arrived at the kitchen to find a cat eating the fish his soul was once trapped in. Not able to take in the sight, the gold ranger screamed and fainted right on the spot. The others soon showed up in the kitchen and were completely surprised to find the fainted gold ranger on the floor.

"Antonio!" exclaimed Kevin

Mia, Jayden and Nariko then looked at the blue ranger to find him still wearing the tutu Mike put on him. Noticing their looks, Kevin looked at himself to find the tutu upon his body, immediately he became embarrassed and ran out of the room which the girls and Jayden couldn't help but lightly laugh at.

As their laughter died down Jayden immediately remembered what he saw earlier and gently grab Nariko by the elbow "If you'll excuse us Mia, I'm going to have a talk with Nariko in her room." "Sure thing Jayden."

Thus the red ranger led his fiance out of the kitchen and towards her room. Upon entering Jayden let go of Nariko's elbow and closed the door behind him "Is there something that you're hiding from me Nariko?"

"No…I'm not hiding anything from you."

"It's no use trying to lie to me Nariko, I know."

"Know what?"

The red ranger approached his fiance and once he stood in front of her, Jayden grab Nariko's wrist and lifted it up to reveal her bandaged hand "That you're hiding your injury from me! Nariko…Why didn't you tell me you got hurt?"

She pulled her hand out of the red ranger's grip "It's nothing for you to worry about."

"It's already too late for that because now I'm worried! Tell me what happened Nariko."

"I just had a little accident that's all."

"I'm not accepting that as an answer, tell me exactly what happened and I'm not leaving until you tell me."

The couple stared at each other for the longest time until Nariko sighed in frustration "I made some hot tea the other day and while I was pouring some in a cup, I got distracted and accidently poured some of the hot tea on my hand that's what happened…"

"That's it?"

"Yes…I told you it's nothing for you to worry about."

"Well I can't help but get worried whenever you get hurt…I care greatly for your safety Nariko…Protecting you is my top priority along with protecting my team…Promise me the next time you get hurt you'd at least let me know?"

Nariko looked away and simply gave a small nod, Jayden then pulled the princess into a tight embrace "I'm sorry for raising my voice at you…I really don't like it when we fight…"

"It's all right Jay…"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

The red ranger kissed his fiancé's head and laid his head against hers, still holding her tightly "I mean it…I love you so much and nothing is going to change how I feel."

Very touched by what he said, all Nariko did was returned the embrace and buried her face in Jayden's chest not before saying "I feel the same way too Jay…"

Later after Emily and Mike returned, everyone had gathered outside at the table for a little celebration. Of course Antonio was the one cooking the food and as he placed a hamburger patty on Kevin's plate, the blue ranger made his way back to the table while looking at Mike "I can't believe you switch bodies with Switchbeast, I never would have thought of that."

"It wasn't like a wanted to and it's way creepy, but it was the only way I could think of."

"And you did it by yourselves, just the two of you." Said Mia

Emily smiled at this and looked at the green ranger "It was mostly Mike."

He shook his head at this "No way…We worked as a team."

"Well if it weren't for you I'd still be a gnome." Told Jayden

"Yeah then I'd have to place you outside, a nice decoration for the garden." Joked Nariko

The others lightly laughed at this while Jayden wrapped his arms around his fiance and began tickling her a bit "Not funny Nariko!"

Through giggles she managed to say "I thought it was!"

The couple soon stopped and began eating their meal Antonio prepared for them, Kevin smiled at Mike and Emily "Once again thanks you two."

While they ate Mike brought out his samuraizer and showed the picture he took of Kevin in a tutu to the others. They began to laugh at this while the blue ranger curiously watched them. The green ranger then turned to Kevin, grinning at him "So…You're not even mad about this?"

He showed the blue ranger the picture to which he gasps in shock at while the others continued on laughing. Kevin looked at Mike in disbelief "You took pictures? Give me that!"

He tried grabbing the green ranger's phone who quickly held it away from him. Mike then stood up from his seat and began to teasingly wave his samuraizer in front of his fellow ranger. Kevin got up from his seat too "Mike give me that!" thus he began chasing Mike around the yard who still kept on teasing Kevin about the photo and the others laughed in amusement while watching the two rangers' childish act.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

It was a perfect beautiful day in the city, the sky was clear and the sun was brightly shining its rays. Near the ocean waters, sitting upon a hill was Antonio picking at the grass. He couldn't help but think about the experience when the gold ranger was almost eaten by a cat during the time his soul was trapped in a fish.

"I can't believe a cat almost ate me…Now…I can't even think about fish…"

Antonio was soon brought out of his thoughts once hearing his morpher go off, he reluctantly answered the call "Hello?"

"There's a mooger attack in the city center, we're on our way meet us there!" told Jayden

The gold ranger gave no reply, causing Jayden to ask "Antonio did you hear me?"

"Yeah…Yeah I'm on it…"

And with that he hung up, while closing his morpher Antonio gazed at the device "It's time to go to battle for the last time…"

Meanwhile at the city center Jayden and the others arrived in the ranger forms, immediately taking care of the attacking moogers. Just as they got rid of Master Xandred's minions, more of them appeared from the gaps.

"More of them?" wondered Kevin

"Dude it's no big deal, they're just moogers!" told Mike

"Then let's stop talking and let's start fighting!" declared Jayden

At this time Antonio showed up but not in his ranger form, the others looked at their fellow ranger in confusion as he began pressing buttons on his morpher and lowly mumbled "Go, go samurai…Gold power…"

Once in his gold ranger form, Antonio brought out his weapon "Barracuda blade…" his knees started to shake and he let out a shaky breath "Here goes nothing…"

Though as he looked down at his weapon, Antonio just saw his blade into an actual fish to which he let out a frighten cry. The ranger dropped his blade and fell back on his butt, this caused Jayden and the others to stare at him in surprise.

"Antonio what's wrong?" asked Mia

The gold ranger quickly back up on his feet as he gripped his right wrist "I…I can't do it!"

He then fell to his knees in defeat that greatly surprise Jayden even more "Antonio!"

"I'm sorry guys…I just can't do it!"

Thus the gold ranger went into a fetal position, whimpering a bit "I can't believe it…"

"What's the deal with Antonio?" wondered Mike

Jayden quickly notice of the moogers charging at them "We have to deal with this first!"

The rangers quickly split up and defeated all the moogers with no problems, once the creatures were gone the rangers ran over to the gold ranger's side.

"Hey it's all right buddy!" told Mike

"Antonio, are you ok?" asked Mia

"What's wrong?" asked Kevin

Antonio slowly sat up and tiredly looked at his friends "I'm sorry you guys…"

Emily bent down and picked up his Barracuda blade, holding it out to him "You don't want to forget about this."

Antonio looked and his eyes widen in terror, he quickly scooted away "No, get it away from me!"

He then turned away and muttered "I can't touch my Barracuda blade…It reminds of…Of…The fish…"

"What?" Mia said in disbelief

Back at the Shiba household, the rangers brought Antonio back in turn informed Ji and Nariko on what's going on, the news that they were told happen to greatly surprise the two.

"Fish? But Antonio grew up in a fish shop! I mean he fishes every day and what now he's afraid of fish? You guys have got to be kidding me." Told Ji

"This is no joke Ji." Said Jayden

"Well when that nighlok switched our souls into objects…Antonio did get turned into a fish." Reminded Kevin

"The neighborhood cat was really close to eating him before he switched back, now he isn't able to touch fish." Added Mia

The samurai mentor couldn't help but look at the rangers in disbelief "Seriously?"

Antonio put down the glass of water Nariko handed to him earlier "I'm through…The golden age of Antonio is officially at an end."

"The golden age of Antonio? All right look you didn't get eaten so pull yourself together!" told Kevin

Mike nodded in agreement "He's right dude…Look you taught yourself how to be a samurai, you can beat this!"

"Yeah…Anyone who can figure out how to program the black box, can teach themselves how to deal with their fears." Said Emily

Antonio shook his head at this "You don't get it! I almost got eaten by a cat!"

Nariko quickly went over and sat by the gold ranger's side, rubbing his back in comfort "Calm down! It's ok."

Greatly annoyed by this Kevin turned to Jayden "It's not ok! He's officially lost it!"

"I'm a fisherman who's afraid of fish…I can't use my Barracuda blade…I can't be gold ranger anymore…" muttered Antonio

An hour later the group soon came up with a way to help Antonio get over his current fear of fish. They were still in the living room and at this time Emily stood in front of the gold ranger "Antonio we're not going to let you quit, we all have fears but we're going to teach you how to beat them…It's called aversion therapy…"

The two ranger then looked over at Jayden who took a seat "Look…Jayden is overcoming his fear of spiders." Told Emily

At this time Nariko approached her fiance with a spider in hand, once close enough she let the eight legged insect crawl onto her lover's arm. Feeling completely terrified right now Jayden managed to say to his childhood friend "Yeah…I'm fine with them…S-See? A samurai can overcome their fear."

Kevin then patted Mike's shoulder before grabbing a hold of it "Mike here…Hates enclosed spaces." Both he and Ji grabbed both the green ranger's arms and began taking him to the closet.

Once the samurai mentor opened the closet door, Mike warily looked at the inside of it "S-Seriously? It looks a bit cramped in there…"

"Come on Mike." Said Ji

"I-I don't know guys I'm thinking this is not a good idea…"

"It's for Antonio."

And with that said the green ranger was placed in the closet with the door shutting behind him only for him to cry out "Help!"

Seeing how Antonio was not reacting to any of their attempts to help him, Emily patted his back "Watch this…Mia has her own fears to overcome."

Nariko soon stood in front of the pink ranger with a small tray in hand, she lifted up the lid to reveal a frog underneath. Mia stared at in horror then to the Yamada princess, she smiled then looked to Antonio "Frogs make Mia's skin crawl."

Nariko lightly elbowed the pink ranger, who looked to Antonio giving him a weak smile "But maybe a kiss will turn him into a prince charming…"

"Come on Mia you can do it!" encouraged Emily

Slowly but surely the pink ranger leaned forward and placed a kiss on the amphibian, once doing so she immediately pulled away and began wiping her lips "Oh yuck!" Mia soon finished up and gave another weak smile to Antonio "S-See?"

To their dismay none of their attempts were helping at all for Antonio, Kevin soon placed a plate of fish in front of the gold ranger. Antonio's eyes widen in fear and quickly looked away, the blue ranger saw this and sighed in frustration "Antonio…You've touched thousands of fish! All you have to do is place your hand on this one."

Antonio made no move having Kevin to sigh again, Nariko walked over to them "Let me try Kevin, I believe I have a way to help Antonio get over his fear."

"No I got this Nariko."

"But…"

The blue ranger then lightly nudge Antonio in the side "All right wanna talk scary?" he showed his fellow ranger a bowl filled with some kind of food "Mia cooked this…Now I'll even take a bite of this…"

He stopped talking for a bit, trying make himself not throw up at the sight of Mia's food before continuing "If you touch the fish…Rangers together right?"

Antonio looked at him and nodded, then turned his attention to the fish in front of him and got ready along with Kevin.

"One…Two…Three!" exclaimed Kevin, who shoved a spoonful of Mia's food. At the same time Antonio reached to touch the fish but stopped at the last second "I can't do it!"

The blue ranger looked at him in disbelief soon making a face at the taste of Mia's cooking. Suddenly the gap sensor went off, Jayden looked at the beacon before quickly brushing the spider off his arm. He gave a sigh of relief and stood up from his seat, gathering around the table with the other rangers. Ji pressed the symbol upon the table to reveal the city map "At the edge of the city, near the western woods."

"Let's go!" told Jayden

He and the rangers ran out of the room to do their duty, Kevin soon came back in and spitted the food back into the bowl then looked to Antonio and pointed at Mia's cooking "This is really bad!" and ran back out of the living room to catch up with the others.

"I'm done…It's over…" muttered the gold ranger, he looked to the Yamada princess and samurai mentor "I'm sorry Nariko…Mentor…I can't got with them…I just can't…"

Ji looked to Nariko who nodded at him, the samurai mentor turned his attention back on Antonio "Maybe so…But there is something you can do in the meantime."

"What?"

Nariko stepped out of the room for a few seconds then came back in holding a lantern in hand "Ji gave you the Claw zord and you brought it back to life." She held up the lantern for Antonio to see "This is the Light zord…An ancient zord that no samurai has been able to unlock for centuries and it has been under my clan's care…Antonio…Your symbol is light and I strongly believe that you could be the first to unlock it."

The gold ranger stared at the lantern for a bit before looking at Nariko with a smile "Ok…I'll try…For you Nariko."

Meanwhile with the rangers, they were just taking care of two Spitfangs when from out of nowhere meet a new nighlok by the name of Serrator. Jayden and the others tried taking on the new enemy but he proved to be too strong. So strong that the rangers had no choice but to inform Ji that they need Antonio's help badly.

The samurai mentor quickly ran out to the front yard and approached the Yamada heir who was painting at the time "Nariko!"

She looked away from her easel "Ji…What is it?"

"Jayden and the others…They met up with a new enemy who calls himself Serrator and they're having a hard time fighting against him, they said they really need Antonio's help…Do you know where he is?"

"He left long ago to work on the Light zord, but still hasn't come over his fear…"

"This is not good at all…The rangers really need him."

Nariko put her paintbrush down on the easel "Then leave it to me."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a way that I know will help Antonio come over his fear of fish."

"You sure it will work?"

"Positive now just leave it to me!"

And with that said the Yamada princess ran out of the front yard, making her way over to where Antonio is. She soon found the gold ranger at his spot by the ocean water; he was hard at work programming the Light zord. Antonio was so busy that he failed to notice Nariko approaching him from behind.

"Time to end his fear once and for all!" the Yamada princess determinedly thought

Once standing behind him, Nariko patted his shoulder having Antonio turn to look at her in confusion. She took this chance to stuff a piece of sushi into the gold ranger's mouth "Stop your nonsense and eat this sushi!"

Antonio's eyes widen in surprise as he was caught off guard but happily ate the sushi. Nariko smiled and nodded in approval once seeing this "See? You're cured." She then held out the gold ranger's Barracuda blade in front of him "Now go and join your team, they really need your help."

Antonio smiled and grabbed his weapon "I can't thank you enough Nariko, it would have been better if you did this earlier for me but once again thank you."

"Anything to help out an old childhood friend…What about the Light zord?"

"I've just finished programming him just as you showed up. Now if you'll excuse I'm gonna go help your fiance and our friends!"

He gave a swift kiss to Nariko on the cheek and quickly ran off, carrying the Light zord with him.

Much later after Antonio met up with the other rangers and help them defeat Serrator's minion, the group returned to celebrate Antonio's triumph over his fear. Currently in the front yard the gold ranger was once again cooking up some fish for his friends that gathered at the table.

"So…You've clearly gotten over your fear of fish." Said Mike

Antonio nodded "Yup…Not only that we now have the Light zord in our hands."

"You've got to tell us, how did you get over your fear?" asked Mia

Antonio thought for moment before looking at Nariko who was sitting next to Jayden "Let's just say Nariko taught me to follow my gut."

Nariko giggle a bit at this before going back to eating her meal that the gold ranger prepared. Jayden then wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered in her ear "And just what did you do to help Antonio get over his fear?"

"Easy…I just stuffed a piece of sushi in his mouth and made him eat it, along with telling him to stop his nonsense."

"Really?"

"Yes really I told Kevin that I had a way to help Antonio to get over his fear."

"You're really intelligent you know that right?"

"I know…But it's nice hearing from someone else especially you Jay."

He chuckled and gave a sweet kiss to his fiance before the couple went back to their meal and enjoying the rest of their day with their friends in peace.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Today at the Shiba household Emily and Mike were outside feeding the neighborhood cat that had almost ate Antonio. As the feline was eating the food that was given, Emily watched and smiled at Mike "Now that Antonio is all right with the kitty, I've figured we could let her hang around again." "I hope so." Thus the two rangers made their way back inside their home.

Upon entering Kevin was in the living room busily reading his book on samurai life, while Mia was something going on in the practice dojo. Mike lightly nudges Emily in the side and pointed to the dojo "Hey…Check out what's going on over here."

Both he and the yellow ranger joined Mia's side to watch Antonio, Ji and Nariko sitting at a table in the dojo. All three were focused on unlocking something in the Light zord, Nariko had a book opened in front of her soon showing it to Ji and Antonio pointing at one section "Here…We can try this."

"That's really good Nariko. Now focus Antonio this requires our full attention." Told Ji

The gold ranger nodded and grabbed some trail mix from the bowl beside him and began munching "Ok…I can do this…"

"Wow…I'm used to seeing Nariko and Antonio together since they're childhood friends after all but…It's strange seeing Ji and Antonio acting all buddy, buddy." Admitted Emily

"Yeah…But what are they doing with the Light zord?" wondered Mike

His question happened to catch Kevin's attention who now was watching Ji, Nariko and Antonio in the dojo.

"Maybe with your technology you can harness the power of the sword." Said Ji

Antonio nodded at this and continued pressing buttons on his samurai morpher in one hand while messing with his fishing spool in the other. Fed up with watching the three Mike made his way pass Mia and Emily, walking over to Ji, Nariko and Antonio "I've got to know."

Once close enough to the little group, the green ranger greeted them, "Hey guys what's up?"

Both Ji and Nariko held up their hands shushing Mike, though not once did they take their attention off the book or Antonio. The green ranger soon noticed the bowl of trail mix that Antonio was eating, seeing how it was empty the green ranger quickly grabbed the bowl and filled it with dried cat food. He immediately put the bowl back just as Antonio reached over and grabbed some, stuffing the food into this mouth.

Mike lowly chuckled at this, Mia and Emily saw this also and quietly giggled. Ji who had noticed this grabbed Antonio's wrist just as he was about to grab some more "Antonio…I think we should go fishing now." "Ok…Sure could use a break."

Nariko who had also witnessed what Mike had done, she grabbed the bowl and turned to the green ranger holding out the bowl to him "Hey Mike! Have some." He froze in his steps as he tried to make his escape, slowly Mike turned to the Yamada heir who gave a look and lightly shook the bowl "Come on."

Reluctantly he went over to her and grabbed some of the cat food, putting it in his mouth and eating it. Nariko smirked as Mike turned away still eating the food, Mia and Emily giggled at the face the green ranger made.

10 minutes later in the front yard Antonio was prepping his fishing gear while Jayden was practicing on a training dummy. Once finished prepping, the gold ranger turned to his friend "Hey we're going fishing!"

At this time Ji came out of the household with the Light zord in hand along with Nariko following after. "No we're not." Said Ji

"We're not?" wondered Antonio

The samurai mentor held up the Light zord "We need to keep working on this but we need privacy."

The gold ranger simply shrugged at this "Ok…"

Nariko then made her way over to her fiance who immediately stopped his practicing "You're going along?"

"Yeah it's best that I do, Ji feels that he'll most likely need my help and knowledge with this task."

"Well you three be careful out there."

"Don't worry we will."

Jayden then grabbed Nariko's hand and pulled her over into a kiss, she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned it. A good minute had passed as the couple continued to kiss when Antonio said "Come on you two love birds! You can kiss all you want later!"

Nariko was the one to break the kiss and murmured "I better get going or Antonio won't stop."

"Come back to me safe and sound, all right?"

"I will…Love you…"

"Love you too."

The couple shared one last kiss before Nariko made her way over to the gold ranger, Antonio dramatically sighed "Oh finally! I was wondering whether or not I had to come and drag you away from your fiance!"

The Yamada heir playfully shoved the golden ranger "Oh quiet you! Come on, let's catch up with Ji!"

Later at a secluded spot in the hills, Antonio was sitting at a picnic table continuing his programming. Nariko was sitting by his side, looking through the book from earlier. Ji was a few feet behind them, pacing back and forth looking at the gold ranger in thought "If Antonio can do this, he'll unlock tremendous powers."

To his complete surprise Ji was ambushed by some moogers who quickly captured the samurai mentor without catching the attention of Nariko and Antonio. Once capturing mentor, some moogers began sneaking up on the remaining two. The gold ranger ceased pressing on the keypad to his morpher "Nariko…Mentor…It's done…"

The Yamada heir looked up from the book "Really? Well done…" she turned around in her seat "Ji, Antonio is-" the princess stopped once setting eyes on the moogers, Antonio turned around too and quickly got up in alarm. He stood in front of Nariko to protect her but before he could morph, a mooger charged up to the gold ranger and exhale a red fume that immediately knocked out the ranger who fell to the ground.

"Antonio!" exclaimed Nariko, before she could do anything the same mooger exhaled the red fume that knocked out the gold ranger in the princess' face. She let out a cry of surprise before collapsing to the ground right next to Antonio.

Back at the household Jayden was still training in the front yard with the practice dummy, just as the red ranger was practicing his kicks and punches he suddenly stopped once feeling a light pain. He stopped and grabbed his side, looking at the spot in thought "What was that all about? And I don't like what I'm feeling right now…Like something bad has happened to Nariko…"

The gap sensor brought the red ranger out of his thought; he looked at the blinking symbol then to his team as they ran out and stood in front of him. Jayden nodded to his friends and left through the front gate with the others following. Minutes passed as the group made their way to the spot Nariko, Antonio and Ji were.

Upon their arrival Emily spotted something up ahead and pointed "Hey look, over there!"

While Emily, Mia, Jayden and Kevin gathered around Antonio's fishing gear, Mike quickly made his way over to Light Zord who happened to be lying upon the ground.

The green ranger quickly picked up the lantern zord and looked at it "Light Zord! Antonio…Mentor…Nariko…"

Mia came over to Mike at this time also looking at Light Zord "They would never leave this behind!"

"Someone must have ambushed them." Declared Kevin

Jayden frowned at this but nodded "I think you're right…"

"Oh man…This all my fault! They wouldn't have come here if I hadn't been messing around…" said Mike

"You've finally figured that out, huh?" questioned Kevin

Not wanting to put up with any fighting Jayden firmly said "Enough! All that matters now is finding Nariko, Mentor and Antonio."

Mike sighed in frustration and looked at the lantern "What were they doing with this thing anyway?"

While scanning around the area Kevin spotted something on the ground and picked it up. Once realizing what it was he turned to his fellow rangers "Hey everybody!" they immediately went over to the blue ranger who held up the item he picked up "It's Antonio's fishing spool! And the line leads…"

Kevin followed the fishing line that lead to some stairs a few feet away "That way…"

The rangers made their way to the stairs and upon reaching it; they saw that it had a door at the bottom leading to an underground tunnel. "Of course it would lead to a creepy tunnel." Said Mia

"They must have taken them down there…Get ready we're going in!" told Jayden

All five rangers morphed and immediately made their way into the tunnel. It was very quiet and eerie in the tunnel, not to mention the place was barely lit. "It's too dark in here to see!" told Kevin

"I can fix that!" declared Mike, he held up Light Zord and in seconds emitted a bright light

"Thanks Mike." Said Jayden, he then bend down and grabbed the fishing line on the floor. The red ranger looked at it for a bit before following the line "The trail leads this way." With that being said the other rangers quickly followed after their leader.

Meanwhile outside in a secluded spot, Ji, Nariko and Antonio were tied together to a pillar with moogers patrolling around and the nighlok named Eyescar watching over the three.

"Ah yes! Now all that's left for us to do is play the waiting game." Said Eyescar

Antonio struggled against the ropes that bind Ji, Nariko and himself, after struggling for a bit he glared at Eyescar "What do you want from us nighlok?"

"I've got what I want, the three of you! Not only that I've got what Master Xandred wants and that would be the Yamada princess! He'll be most pleased with me once I give her to him."

"You stay away from Nariko! And besides why us?"

"You're the catch of the day! You're the bait I'm going to use to lure the rest of your colored coated friends."

Eyescar then stood in front of Antonio waving his samurai morpher in front of her face "Wouldn't you like to give them a call? I bet you would but too bad! They'll come for you from the only entrance to this valley, from right there!"

The nighlok pointed to a specific spot in the valley "And when they do my mooger army will be waiting with open arms! Bwahahahaha!"

Eyescar then went over to Nariko and began stroking her cheek "I can see why Master Xandred has an interest in you, such a pretty little princess." Nariko quickly jerked her head away from the nighlok's touch; Eyescar evilly chuckled at this before walking away.

"I'm really starting to hate being kidnapped by the enemy." Huffed Nariko

"Don't worry Nariko we just have to keep faith that Jayden and the others will find us." Said Ji

"Nice to hear that Ji, but I'm not worried at all. I just hate being kidnapped and used as bait."

"And besides we don't need faith…Remember my fishing spool? I accidently dropped it…I wonder if someone named Jayden might find it?" said Antonio

"This is why I'm glad to have you as a friend Antonio." Said Nariko

"You know…This time you surprised even me Antonio." Admitted Ji

Back with Jayden and the others, they were still making their way through the tunnel. While travelling through Mia cautiously looked around "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

"This is beyond creepy!" admitted Emily

Soon Jayden stopped in his tracks causing the others to do so, the red ranger kneeled down and picked up a fishing spool on the ground "It's the end of the line…Literally…"

"Everyone be on guard!" warned Kevin

Thus all five rangers formed a circle with their hands on their spin swords just as the moogers came storming in and began attacking the group.

"Man talk about a lot of moogers!" said Mike

"There's no sign of Mentor, Antonio or Nariko!" Kevin pointed out

Amongst their fighting Jayden noticed the Light Zord crazily flying around "Hey check out the Light Zord! It's flying around all on its own!"

Soon the lantern returned to the floor only to be kicked hard by a mooger, Mike noticed this and went to the zord's aid "Oh no! Lighty got dropped kicked!"

While the rangers continued on fighting with the large group of moogers, back with Nariko, Ji and Antonio all they could do was wait for the rangers' arrival since they were bounded by rope. As they waited Ji said to the gold ranger "You know…When you first came back…I thought you were trouble…But I'm glad to say that I was wrong."

"You are?"

"Yes…You deserve your spot on the team…You're truly worth your weight…"

Knowing what Ji was going to say, Antonio smiled and finished for him "In gold?"

The samurai mentor chuckled a bit "Sure…"

Nariko lightly giggled at this and shook her head, Antonio was quiet for a moment before saying "Hey…In case we don't make it out of this…I want to thank the both of you for putting up with me…And you know…Believing in me…"

To their displeasure Eyescar decided to show up at this time and butt in on their conversation "All I want is capturing the rest of your crew! Now the three of you be quiet!"

Meanwhile with the rangers Mike managed to reach Light Zord and discovered something was in the lantern. He pressed a button on the sword which launched a power disk, one that Jayden easily caught and used its powers. The power disk turned out to be the Shark disk that Antonio happened to be working on the whole time and was finally able to unlock its powers.

Jayden quickly got rid of the large mooger group with the Shark disk and with his team, continued their way down the tunnel. The group soon made their way outside and to their dismay found a large mooger army gathered in the valley. "Did we already filled our quota for today?" questioned Mike

"The forces seem more focused across the valley." Told Kevin

Jayden nodded in agreement "You're right, they're expecting us along the valley."

"Sure but if we charge down there we'll still be outnumbered a hundred to one." Told Emily

"True…But I have an idea."

Getting a bit impatient Eyescar kneeled in front of Antonio and grabbed the rope around his neck "Your pathetic buddies will be coming through that passage any minute now. And you get to watch them fry!" the nighlok jerked on the rope hard before letting it go.

Antonio groaned a bit in pain and coughed a little, Nariko looked at the gold ranger in worry "Antonio!" "I'm fine Nariko…I'm fine…"

"Don't worry Antonio, we'll make it through this!" told Ji

Eyescar scoffed at this "Even in defeat, they're delusional!"

Suddenly a loud whoosing was heard above, causing Nariko to look up. She smiled once seeing what it was, Ji looked also and grinned before looking at Eyescar "Not delusional, I just got a hunch."

The nighlok soon heard the whooshing sound and looked up at the sky "Huh? What's that noise?" Eyescar then spotted the Battlewing coming towards them and firing its lasers at the mooger army.

As the lasers took the moogers down, Eyescar cried in disbelief "Impossible! They avoided my trap! I thought they could only spot us by coming through that path!"

The rest of the moogers were dealt with Kevin, Mike, Emily and Mia while Jayden piloted the Battlewing. Mia quickly ran over to Antonio, Ji and Nariko cutting them free from their rope binds "Hey guys, you're free!"

Antonio and Ji grabbed both of Nariko's arms, quickly leading her away from the battle as the four rangers surrounded Eyescar. Kevin quickly used his hydro bow on the nighlok knocking Antonio's morpher out of the monster's hand. Emily ran and immediately caught the device soon handing it to Antonio.

The gold ranger caught his morpher and quickly morphed to join his friends on the fight. Eyescar growled at this "How in the world did you rangers figure out my trap?"

The nighlok soon turned around to make his escape but immediately stopped in his tracks once seeing Jayden standing there with the shark blade in hand "Not so fast!"

"Yeah you're not going anywhere! Not after you laid your slimy nighlok hand on Nariko and planning to take her to Master Xandred!"

The red ranger became angered at this and tightly gripped his sword "Now there's no way I'm letting you escape nighlok!"

And with that the fight continue on but did not last long, thanks to the Shark disk's powers Jayden was able to defeat Eyescar but not for good. The nighlok came back in his large form and thus the rangers summoned their megazord. With their newly acquired Shark zord, the rangers used its powers to defeat Eyescar once and for all.

Later back at the household, everyone had gathered at the table to have some lemonade. While they were sipping their drinks Ji smiled at the rangers "Faced against with impossible odds, you got the job done. You saved us and I will be forever eternally grateful."

Antonio smiled at his friends while munching on some trail mix "That makes the two of us."

Nariko smiled at Jayden and held his hand "I had no doubt at all, I knew you guys were going to save us but thank you. I can always count on you all, especially you my darling red ranger." She gave her fiance a kiss on the cheek before wrapped her arms around his waist hugging him.

Jayden chuckled at this and returned the embrace "I'm just so relieved to find the three of you safe and sound, especially you Nariko."

"So…Is the shark disk great or what?" asked Antonio

Jayden smiled at the gold ranger "You truly out did yourself."

"Oh no…Now he's going to be more full of himself." Joked Kevin

Mike soon noticed the bowl once filled with trail mix was now emptied, feeling a little bit mischievous the green ranger quickly filled the bowl with cat food once more. He then held it out towards the gold ranger "Hey Antonio…How about some more snacks?"

"Thanks!"

Noticing what Mike did just now, Nariko quickly reached over and grabbed the bowl out of Mike's hand "Forget the trail mix, Antonio I'll warm you something up in the kitchen."

"Cool, thanks Nariko."

"I'll help you with that Nariko." Said Ji

As they were getting up from the table, the Yamada princess gave Mike a look, one that Jayden and the others except for Antonio noticed. While she and Ji made their way back into the household Jayden and the others began to laugh at Mike.

Antonio just looked at his friends in confusion as he sipped his drink "What?"

This only cause the others to laugh even more, Jayden patted his friend on the back "We'll you later for now let's just relax, we deserve it anyway."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The day happened to be a quiet and peaceful one, a young boy happened to be strolling along down a path. Little did he knew, the boy was being watched by Serrator and a nighlok by the name of Crustor.

"That pathetic human is just a young boy! How can he be possibly one of the feared guardians?" questioned Crustor

"People have guarded the awesome power of the Bull zord for 300 years…Don't be deceived by his looks, he has unique powers. So you shall see to it that the Bull zord will be mine." Told Serrator

"But the Bull zord is hidden somewhere, it's sealed away!"

"Well then find it and unseal it! That boy is the key to capturing the Bull zord."

"I will be his shadow until the deed is done!"

And with that the nighlok took his leave with Serrator watching him "See to it Crustor, failure is not an option!" once his minion was gone from sight, Serrator muttered to himself, "This is an important piece of the puzzle…My grand plan is falling into place and soon all will kneel to my supreme power."

At the Shiba household Jayden and the others had returned from their trip to city. Upon entering the front yard, they spotted Ji picking some of the vegetables in the garden. The samurai mentor looked up from the plants and at the rangers, "How did it go?"

"It was fine." Told Jayden, he then looked to the household to find the front door wide open. The red ranger asked in wonder, "Ji…Did you leave the door open?"

"No…"

"Where's Nariko?"

"She's been in the household ever since the six of you left for the city, hasn't really stepped outside at all or I would have noticed."

Feeling a bit alarmed at this, Jayden ran into the household yelling his fiancé's name, "Nariko!"

He soon stopped at the living room and to his surprise found a young boy sitting there. The other rangers came running in just as the boy quickly stood up and grabbed his bag off the table. He then smiled and held out his hand, going over to Jayden, "You must be the red ranger."

The two shook hands and once letting go, the boy reached into his bag and pulled out a white power disk showing it to Jayden, "I brought you this…I need you to free the Bull zord."

Nariko showed up at this time, looking at her red ranger in wonder, "Jayden I heard you call my name…Is something wrong?"

The boy looked at the Yamada heir in happiness and exclaimed, "Nariko!"

She looked at the boy and was completely surprise, "Cody!" Nariko went over to him and gently grabbed his shoulders, "Does your Father know you're here?"

"No…I jumped the fence…"

Soon Ji came in to see what was all the commotion and was also surprise to see the boy, "Cody!"

"Before you ask Ji, no Cody's father doesn't know he's here…Cody jumped the fence." Told Nariko

The samurai mentor sighed a bit at this and looked at the rangers, "Cody's family are guardians of the first zord that ever appeared in this world. A Bull zord with immense primal power, Cody's family has been guardians for 300 years…"

Soon everyone had taken a seat in the living room as Ji and Nariko began to explain more to the rangers about Cody and his family.

"The Bull zord came into our world through symbol power but it went out of control and ravaged the country side. So the Grand Shogun sealed it away in a secret location, only Cody's family knows the secret." Told Nariko

Cody looked to the rangers, "The Bull zord isn't bad! He just wants to be free once I break the seal-"

"Whoa there…You want to unleash a zord that went on a rampage?" questioned Kevin

"He won't do that now, you can control it with this disk! Tell them Nariko!"

The Yamada heir looked at the boy a little unsure, "Cody…"

"We need to check this out first…We'll take you home Cody." Said Jayden

The young boy just looked down in sadness, Nariko saw this and turn to her fiance, "Jayden…Let me go with you."

"Nariko…"

"Please Jay…"

The red ranger stared at his fiance for a bit before nodding, "All right…You can come along."

30 minutes later the rangers, Nariko and Cody arrived at a Japanese household in the country side. As the group passed through the gates, Cody began to hide himself behind Nariko, they soon approached a man who happened to be chopping up some logs.

The group stopped a few feet away from the man and Jayden called out to him "Excuse me…Could we talk to you? We're-"

"I know who you are." Said the man, not once ceasing his chopping, "My son went to see you…Why are hiding in the back of Nariko, Cody?"

Reluctantly the young boy stepped out from behind the Yamada heir with his gaze casted to the ground. The man then stopped his work and turned to the group, looking straight at Cody "You left without telling me."

"Because I was worried about the Bull zord, Dad! It doesn't want to be sealed up like that Dad I can feel it! And the red ranger here can help us set him free!"

"No one can control that zord Cody, not even the red ranger!"

"But…What about Nariko?"

"Nor Nariko…She may come from a strong samurai clan but…Even she doesn't have the kind of power to tame that beast. You've endangered yourself, the rangers and Nariko, you put everyone around us at risk! Now…You've got chores to do."

With that being said, Cody bowed his head in defeat and walked off to do his chores. As the rangers and Nariko watched him go, Jayden leaned down and whispered into the princess' ear "You never did tell me, how you know Cody and his father."

"It was way before the team was gathered when Master Xandred awakened…One day while you were so busy training, Ji sent me here to meet the current Bull zord guardian and chat with them. From there on the days you were busy with training, Ji would let me come here and play with Cody so he wouldn't get lonely."

"I see…"

Cody's father soon cleared his throat, "Sorry about that…And sorry that you had to come all this way…Please come inside and I'll make some tea."

As they began making their way inside, Nariko stayed in her spot and Jayden happened to notice this "Nariko…Aren't you coming in?"

"Yeah I'll be there in a bit…I just want to check on Cody first."

"Well…All right…I'll see you in a bit."

"Ok."

The red ranger then kissed his fiance on the forehead and made his way into the household to join his team and Cody's father. Once seeing that they were inside Nariko walked off to find the young boy. She soon found Cody in the garden sitting by a bucket filled with vegetables; the princess made her over and sat by the young boy.

"Cody…Are you ok?"

"Why won't anyone believe me Nariko? Dad doesn't listen…Even the red ranger doesn't understand…The Bull zord won't hurt anyone!"

"Cody…"

"I'll prove it to them! I'll show them that the Bull zord is harmless now!"

"Cody I don't think that's a good idea."

"Then come with me Nariko so you can see for yourself."

"Cody…"

"Please Nariko…"

The Yamada heir stared at the young for a bit before sighing, "All right I'll go with you…But if something horrible goes wrong once you release the Bull zord I'm sealing it right back up, deal?"

"Deal!"

Meanwhile in the household, currently Jayden was gazing at the wooden statue of the grand shogun, "So this is the Grand Shogun…" the red ranger looked to Cody's father "Cody really cares about that zord doesn't he?"

"Cody started talking to the Bull zord when he was three years old…He thinks it understands him." Said Cody's father

"Does it?"

"Maybe…But it can't be trusted…"

Cody's father then walked over to a drawer and pulled out a long rolled up scroll. He walked over to the table, untying the string that bind the scroll and unrolled the parchment upon the table, once doing so the rangers gathered around to look at its contents.

"300 years ago the Grand Shogun entrusted us with this task…To guard the Bull zord with our very lives…He ordered that it remained sealed today, tomorrow and for all eternity…" told Cody's father

Suddenly the door opened to reveal a very out of breath Mia, "Cody and Nariko are gone!"

Deep in the forest Nariko and Cody were walking down a long path, the young boy soon stopped in his tracks causing Nariko to stop also and look back at him, "What's wrong Cody?"

"It's nothing…" the young guardian then pulled out a white power disk and stared at it, "It's just that…Adults think that kids don't know anything…"

"I don't think that Cody."

"I know…But Nariko I know this disk can tame the Bull zord…I just hope it can release him from inside the mountain."

"Remember what I said Cody, if anything and I mean anything goes wrong with the Bull zord I'm sealing it right back up."

"I know, I know…"

"Come on we need to keep moving, how far is the location?"

"Not that far, we should be getting close."

As the two continued their trek, little did they knew Crustor had appeared from a gap after following the two for quite some time, "That's it little guardian, lead me where I want to go!"

10 minutes passed when Nariko and Cody walked down an enclosed path leading into a cave as they entered the area, Crustor stood at the entrance of the enclosed path, evilly chuckling "So…The Bull zord's cockpit is in there!"

Inside the center of the cavern Nariko looked around the area in amazement, "Incredible…I would never expect this to be the place where the Bull zord got sealed…"

Cody then approached a stone stand bearing the Grand Shogun's crest, "I know you want to be free like everyone else…When I break the seal you have to promise you won't do anything bad."

The crest began glowing light red and Cody stopped in front of it, "You have to listen to me too…Promise?" the crest glowed again and the young guardian pulled out a brush "Ok…It's time to finally break the seal…"

Cody then wrote the kanji in the air, "Symbol power…Release!"

Nariko held her breath as she watched the symbol go over to the stand breaking the Grand Shogun's crest to reveal a place to put the power disk in. Cody turned and smiled at the Yamada heir, "Wow look Nariko it worked!"

He then began looking around calling out to the Bull zord, "Come on, you're free now!"

Suddenly the place began to shake, the force of it made Nariko and Cody fall onto their backs. With Jayden and the others, they quickly ran out of the household to see the mountains before them begin to break apart.

"Oh no…This is what I was afraid of! Cody has figured out how to break the seal, the Bull zord is escaping from the mountain!" exclaimed Cody's father

"Look!" exclaimed Mia; she pointed to one spot in the mountains where the Bull zord came out

Inside the zord Nariko groaned a bit and looked to the young guardian, "Cody…Are you ok?"

"Yes I'm all right."

Cody quickly got back up on his feet and approached the stand with the power disk in hand, "Here this disk will give you all of your powers back."

Feeling a sense of dread in her stomach Nariko exclaimed, "No wait Cody!"

But it was too late; the young guardian placed the power disk in the stand which glowed red.

Cody brought out his brush again, "There…Now I just need to draw the power symbol…"

Out of nowhere the Bull zord began to move, making Cody fall back again only to have Nariko catch him, "Cody!"

"I'm all right Nariko…This symbol power will help calm the Bull zord down."

The young boy got out of the princess' arms and stood in front of the stand, drawing out the symbol which he then sent towards the power disk. To his surprise nothing happened and the stand sent out a powerful force towards the young boy, sending him upon his back.

Nariko quickly went to his side, "Cody!"

He looked at the Yamada heir with panic in his eyes, "Nariko…Why didn't that work? Why won't the Bull zord stop?"

"Cody…"

"Bull zord stop! Why aren't you listening to me? Bull zord!"

"I'm sorry Cody but it's gotten out of hand, I'm sealing the Bull zord this instant."

"But Nariko!"

"Cody I'm sorry to say this but the Bull zord tricked you, if I don't stop it now it'll destroy everything in its path."

The Yamada heir then stood and faced the stand with the glowing power disk, she pulled out her brush and was about to write the symbol when the place began to shake. Rocks started to fall from the vibrations; one of them actually hit Nariko in the head immediately knocking her out.

She collapsed to the ground and Cody quickly went over to her, "Nariko!"

He began shaking the Yamada heir, "Nariko wake up! Wake up Nariko! Oh no…What have I done?"

With Jayden and the others, they looked on in shock as they watched the Bull zord started to rampage while Cody's father looked on with fear in his eyes, "I knew this would happen…No one can tame it and now no one can stop it!"

"No way we're going to let it rampage!" declared Jayden, he along with the other rangers pulled out their morphers and went into their ranger forms soon going after the zord.

Crustor who was watching the Bull zord rampage from a far, called out into the open, "Giant moogers! Capture the Bull zord and the boy inside it! I need them both unharmed, do it we need their power!"

The giant moogers appeared at the call and began charging at the Bull zord, but they were no match for the powerful zord which easily took the creatures down with its weapons.

Crustor growled at this and yelled once more, "Stop fooling around, pursue it!"

Though as the moogers tried to capture the Bull zord, it still proved to be very powerful to stop.

The rangers happened to be running through the woods when they happen to see this event unfold.

"It looks like the nighlok are trying to get the Bull zord too." Said Kevin

"Cody and Nariko are still inside, we need to save them!" exclaimed Emily

With that said the rangers pulled out their folding zords and formed their samurai megazord while Antonio summoned the Claw zord. As the rangers tried to go towards the Bull zord, the giant moogers got in the way and managed to restrain the two zords while the other moogers went after the Bull zord.

The evil creatures managed to get some chains wrapped around the Bull zord's horns but it easily broke free from its restrains.

From inside Cody once again tried to talk the Bull zord, "Bull zord stop! Why aren't you listening to me?"

While Antonio kept the giant moogers busy, Jayden and the others went after the Bull zord.

Determined not to be captured and sealed away again, the Bull zord began charging at the Samurai Megazord.

"Bull zord please don't hurt my friends! Stop, no don't!" pleaded Cody, his pleas went unheard as the Bull zord hit the rangers' megazord head on.

Jayden and the rangers tried so hard to stop the Bull zord but just like with the moogers, the zord was just too strong for them.

As the samurai megazord fell to the ground, the Bull zord took this chance to make its escape.

As it did Cody looked to the stone stand staring at the power disk, "I thought I knew you…I thought I could control you…But you're too wild and now you won't stop, not only that Nariko got hurt trying to seal you up…Oh what have I done?"

Later after the difficult attempt to stop the Bull zord to rescue Cody and Nariko, the rangers made their way back to household where Cody's father was waiting.

"We tried to get to Nariko and Cody…But the zord escaped…" told Jayden

Mia gently gripped the father's shoulder, "We'll find them somehow…"

He gripped the tea cup in worry, "Cody should have listened to me…Not only that he shouldn't have brought Nariko along…Forgive me for putting your fiance in danger, Jayden…"

"There's no need for you to say sorry, it's not your fault." Said the red ranger

Cody's father worriedly sighed, "I'm so worried about Cody and Nariko now…"

Jayden nodded in agreement, "So am I…Cody's bond with the Bull zord…Even our zords is so strong…Lets send the zords out to find Nariko's and Cody's location and we'll try again tomorrow."

The next day in the morning the rangers patiently waited outside when Jayden spotted their folding zords, "Hey look the zords are back! They must've found Nariko's and Cody's location!"

As they picked up their companions, the red ranger looked to his team, "Let's go!" before they could leave, a voice stopped them in their tracks

"Wait!"

Jayden turned around to find Cody's father stop in front of him and held out a white power disk,

"Take this…It's the original power disk my ancestors used to create the Bull zord 300 years ago…It's the only possible way to tame it…" this brought a smile to Jayden's face thus taking the power disk "Thank you and don't worry we'll be back with Cody."

Minutes passed and the rangers were currently running down a path, to their surprise they spotted Crustor and some moogers run right in front of them down another path. The rangers quickly stopped in their tracks.

"They must have tracked it down too!" said Kevin

Mike then yelled to Master Xandred's minions, "Hey thuglies!"

Crustor and the moogers immediately stopped in their tracks and turned around to see the rangers standing there.

"Huh? Oh it's you! Don't let them get near the Bull zord!" barked Crustor

"Nothing is going to keep us from saving Cody and Nariko!" exclaimed Mia

The moogers charged at the rangers who quickly morphed and drew their spin swords, while they fought Crustor looked to some moogers that were standing beside him, "Keep them busy while I get the Bull zord and that kid!"

And with that the nighlok quickly made his escape from the battle.

Jayden who happened to hear the nighlok's plan said, "I've got to go help Nariko and Cody!"

"Go Jayden! We've got it covered here! Stop him!" told Mia

Thus Jayden quickly left the battle in hopes of catching up to Crustor before the nighlok could reach the Bull zord.

Meanwhile inside the Bull zord, Nariko still remained unconscious with Cody staying by her side and tried to talk to the Bull zord again, "Listen to me please! You wanted to be free but if you don't stop now they'll seal you up again…Only this time forever…"

"Your time is up guardian!"

Cody quickly turned around to find Crustor standing there, "Oh no…"

He started shaking the Yamada heir again "Nariko wake up! Please you've got to wake up!"

To his relief, Cody heard a small groan from the princess. Slowly Nariko opened her eyes and looked around "W-What…What happened?"

"Nariko you've got to get up, a nighlok is here and he's planning to take the Bull zord!" told Cody

The Yamada heir looked to see that Cody was right once seeing Crustor standing there.

She slowly got up on her feet and pulled out her sais, "Cody…Get behind me…"

The young boy did what he was told, Crustor scoffed at this, "You think you can stop me? Get out of my way! I'm taking the Bull zord and I'll use it to destroy your world!"

Just as the nighlok took a step forward, Nariko quickly sent lightning towards the monster hitting him head on. As the nighlok cried out in pain, Nariko fell down on one knee heavily panting from the ordeal. She soon felt something running down the side of her face, the princess touched her right temple and looked at her hand to find blood on her fingertips.

"Oh no…No wonder I feel so weak…That rock did some damage when it knocked me out…I don't have the strength to deal with this nighlok on my own…" thought Nariko

Angered by the recent attack on him, Crustor began to approach the wounded Nariko, "Why you little! You'll pay for that with your life!"

Before the nighlok could do anything to her, Jayden came running in and attacked Crustor.

"Oh no you don't! You're not laying your disgusting nighlok hand on her! And how dare you threaten my fiance!"

While the two fought with each other, the Bull zord began rampaging again and soon making its way toward the cliff.

Able to see through the Bull zord's eyes Cody exclaimed, "The Bull zord is heading for the cliffs!"

As Jayden knocked Crustor back with his spin sword, the red ranger pulled out the power disk and handed it to the young boy.

"Your father gave me this…He believes in you Cody and now you need to believe in yourself."

Cody slowly grabbed the disk from Jayden who quickly went back to fighting Crustor.

Nariko who was still panting, tiredly looked at the young guardian, "Cody…Use your symbol power…And tame this beast…"

Cody nodded and quickly replaced the power disk he put in with the one Jayden gave to him. The young boy then picked up his brush and wrote the symbol, but as he sent the symbol toward the power disk nothing happened.

"It's not working…" muttered Cody, he looked at the Yamada princess, "Nariko it's not working!"

"Don't give up Cody, you can do it."

The young guardian wrote the symbol again and sent it towards the power disk only to have nothing happen, "It's not working!"

"Concentrate!" told Jayden

The red ranger then went into his super samurai mode to finish off Crustor. Jayden soon sent the nighlok flying out of the cockpit, at the same time Cody wrote the symbol, sending it to the power disk.

This time the symbol worked the power disk turned from white to red in the blink of an eye.

Jayden was greatly relieved by this, "Yes, the Bull zord is flying us to safety!"

Cody then went over and removed the red power disk from the stand, Nariko tiredly smiled at the boy, "You did it, you tamed him Cody."

"No…We did it…"

Cody soon handed the disk to Jayden, "Here…"

"All right…Let's see what this disk can do."

The red ranger inserted the disk into the black box, once doing so the hologram of the Grand Shogun appeared before them.

"The Grand Shogun!" exclaimed Jayden

"You have summoned the power of your ancestors! Now and forever, our power is your power!" told the Grand Shogun, immediately disappearing from sight.

The red ranger then quickly went over to his loved one's side, "Nariko!"

She slowly stood back up on her feet, "I'm fine Jayden…"

Unfortunately the princess' legs gave out on her and she fell, only to have Jayden quickly catch her in his arms, "Nariko!"

He immediately took notice of the blood running down her right temple, "Nariko you're hurt."

"I know…I feel so weak Jayden…"

"Don't worry I've got you sweetheart, As much as I hate leaving you like this but it's time for you and Cody to go."

The red ranger gently put Nariko down on the ground, having Cody immediately kneel by her side, "Don't worry Nariko once we get back home, my Dad will take care of you!"

The young guardian then looked to Jayden, "Thank you for believing in me and the Bull zord."

"You did great, but let's the two of you back to your Dad, Cody."

The red ranger pulled out his samuraizer and wrote out a symbol, with its powers both Cody and Nariko were teleported back to Cody's father.

The battle was long and quite difficult between Jayden and Crustor, but thanks to the Bull zord and its powers, along with the powers of the ancestor the red ranger was able to triumph over the nighlok.

Currently outside of the household, Nariko was lying in a lawn chair with a bandage over her right temple, she happened to be watching Cody and his father talk with each other.

"I'm proud of you son, our ancestor will be proud of you too." Told Cody's father

The young guardian smiled at this "Thanks Dad."

"I hope we're not interrupting."

Nariko, Cody and his father looked to find the rangers standing there with smiles on their faces.

"Hey guys!" greeted Cody

"We wanted to say good bye, before we took off." Told Mike

"Thanks to you, we have a new weapon to fight the nighlok with." Said Kevin

"And now you can go back to your normal life." Added Mia

"As if! I want to help you guys out a lot more! I've got some epic new ideas!" told Cody

"Whoa easy there Cody! You've had enough action for a while. You need to rest up." Said Nariko

Jayden nodded at this, "Nariko is right…But maybe we'll call on you again soon, we can always use help from a friend."

The red ranger then walked over to his fiance and kneeled by her side "How are you feeling?"

"Better than a little while ago…But still a bit lightheaded…"

"The injury that Nariko received in the head is not really serious, though she won't able to stand straight or walk for a while due to her feeling lightheaded. So she will need lots of rest when you return to the Shiba household." Told Cody's father

Jayden nodded again, "Good to know….In that case…"

The red ranger stood up at the same time picking the Yamada heir up in his arms. Surprise by his sudden action, Nariko immediately wrapped her arms around the red ranger's neck, "Jayden! What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm carrying you."

"But all the way back to the Shiba house?"

"You heard what Cody's father said, you're not able to stand straight or walk due to that injury you received."

"But…"

"Hey no worries, I don't mind carrying you at all. Besides at least it's my beautiful girl that I'm carrying and not someone else."

Nariko blushed at his words, "Y-You flatterer…"

Jayden chuckled at this and gave a quick peck to the princess' lips, he turned to his ranger team, "Come on guys, it's time to go home."

"And when we do, I can get away from you two lovebirds so you can be all lovey dovey without me being there to see it." Joked Mike

Just as Jayden passed the green ranger with his fiance in his arms, Nariko took this chance to punch Mike in the shoulder "Very funny Mike!"

"Ouch! Hey I was only joking!"

"I know."

Kevin, Mia, Emily and Antonio laughed at the pout Mike was making before following after the couple. The green ranger rubbed his shoulder a bit while following after his friends "Oh you're going to get it when we get back home, Nariko!"

"I don't think so! My darling red ranger will protect me!"

"That's not fair!"

"Whoever said about being fair, Mike?"

Jayden looked back at his fellow ranger, "She's got a point there Mike."

Nariko looked over her red ranger's shoulder and playfully stuck out her tongue at Mike, Kevin and the others lightly laughed at this. Mike who still had a pout on his face couldn't help but smile and join in on the laughter as they began their trek back home.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

It happened to be a pleasant morning at the Shiba household; Mike had just woken up and made his way to the kitchen for some breakfast. Upon entering the green ranger found Nariko sitting at the counter drinking some tea.

The princess smiled at Mike as he entered the kitchen, "Good morning Mike."

He yawned first before answering, "Morning Nariko."

Just before Mike could fix him a bowl of cereal, he ceased in his movements once hearing the pleasant sound of a guitar playing. Nariko happened to notice this and asked, "Mike what's wrong?"

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Shh…Listen."

And the princess did, her ears picked up the pleasant sound of the guitar, "Is that what I think it is?"

Mike then left out of the kitchen with Nariko closely following after him. They happened to stop in front of the living room where Ji was in, along with the dojo where Jayden and Emily were practicing. The samurai mentor looked up from his book as he took notice of Mike and Nariko, "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing…But where is that guitar music coming from?" wondered Mike

This made Jayden and Emily stop practicing once hearing the guitar music, Nariko looked to the front door and made her way towards it with Ji and the three rangers following her. The princess opened the door and looked out, there on the bench she spotted a teenage boy sitting there playing a guitar.

She stepped outside and made her way over to the boy, standing in front of him along with Jayden. The couple watched the boy for a bit before the red ranger cleared his throat, "Hi…Can I help you?"

The boy ceased his strumming and smiled at them while getting up, "Hi guys…The name is Terry…I'm Mia's brother…"

Soon Mia's young brother was escorted into the Shiba household by Mike, the ranger gave a firm squeeze to Terry's shoulders "So you're Mia's brother."

"Yeah…All my life!"

The green ranger then let go of the boy's shoulder as he began to admire the living room and dojo.

"Welcome to the Shiba house." Told Nariko

Terry couldn't help but look at everything in awe "Whoa…This is cool!"

His awe soon went away and he asked the others, "So…Where is my Sis anyway?"

"Oh she went with Kevin to get some groceries." Told Emily

"You're not going to let her cook are you?"

Mike lightly chuckled at this, "No…We've learned that lesson."

Terry lightly chuckled too, "Sis is good with a blade…As long as it's not a kitchen knife."

"So what brings you to town, Terry?" asked Jayden

"I'm volunteering at the children's hospital over summer break. My parents think it'll get me to med school down the road."

"Is there a big demand for guitar playing doctors?" joked Mike

Terry looked at his instrument, "Oh this? No…I'm also trying to put together a band together for a concert gig…I was hoping Mia would sing?"

Surprised and happy to hear this, Emily excitedly asked, "Mia sings?"

"Oh she was awesome! When we were kids we were going to be the world's greatest band! But…You know the whole power rangers thing." Said Terry

At that moment the gap sensor went off, causing Mike to say "Speaking of which." While he and Jayden quickly left out of the household Emily said to Terry "Uh…We'd love to stay but…"

"Oh don't sweat it! Go save the world I'll just hang with Mentor, he seems cool and Nariko too!"

"We'll be right back!"

"I'll be right here!"

With the rangers, minutes passed when Jayden, Antonio, Emily, Mike and Kevin got rid of the moogers that happened to be trashing a children's school. Mia showed up at the last minute once the battle was over with, "Sorry I'm late guys! But it looks like you handled it."

The group then powered down and began making their leave from the school grounds, while walking Jayden looked to his childhood friend, "Thanks for the assist Antonio, I'm glad that you were nearby."

The gold ranger pretended to cry a little and wipe a fake tear from his eye, "Oh…It's nice to feel needed."

Jayden smiled while shaking his head, he playfully pushed his childhood friend before they continued on walking. Once hearing their little exchange, Emily turned to the pink ranger, "Speaking of being needed, we're needed back at the Shiba house."

Kevin who heard this asked, "Why? What's going on?"

"Mia's brother! Dude you have to meet him, he's like this Zen guitar player!" told Mike

"My brother with his guitar?" wondered Mia

Emily nodded, "Yeah! And he wants you to sing in his band!"

"Uh…He does?"

Antonio who had heard all of this quickly approached the pink ranger, "Whoa! Your brother has a rock band? Oh sweet! I have got to meet him! I'm gonna go grab my guitar and I'll meet you there in a few, don't let him leave!"

And with that the gold ranger ran off, with the other rangers staring after him.

20 minutes later back at the Shiba household, Mike was in the hallway sitting in a chair playing a video game when Terry walked through the front door. The green ranger looked up from his game and smiled at the boy "Hey Terry!"

At this time Mia had walked out of the kitchen carrying a tray of food in hand, she stopped in her tracks once seeing her brother and brightly smiled at him, "Terry!"

The pink ranger handed the tray to Emily who was behind her and quickly went over to her younger brother, enveloping him in a hug.

"Hey Sis! It's been a long time!" told Terry

Mia quickly broke the embrace, "Oh Terry you haven't met Kevin!"

The siblings turn towards the living room to find Kevin, Jayden and Nariko coming over to them.

"You're blue right?" asked Terry

Kevin nodded at this, "Yeah!"

Terry shook hands with the blue ranger, "Well I'm glad that you've got my sister's back!"

Once they let go, Kevin took notice of the instrument in Terry's hand "That's a great guitar you got there, can I see it?"

The teenage boy handed the instrument to him, "Go for it!"

While Kevin began to admire the guitar, Mia looked to her brother and asked, "So what are you doing here?"

"I'm getting the band back together…We have a concert on Friday and I was kind of hoping you'd sing with us."

"Oh…No…"

"Oh come on Mia! We want to see you rock out on stage!" said Emily

"Come on Mia!" urged Mike

"You can sing?" wondered Mike

Mia gave a small smile to her friends then turned to her brother, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulled him close lowly saying, "Can I talk to you outside for a minute?"

Before he could give a reply, the pink ranger quickly dragged him out to the front. Once reaching outside Mia let go of Terry's shoulder, who wondered out loud, "Hey…What gives?"

"Terry…You're supposed to be thinking about your future this summer, not playing gigs!"

"It's just one show Mia, it's not like I'm going on a world tour."

"Be realistic! You've got a better shot going to med school than becoming a rock star!"

"You just sound like Mom and Dad!"

"Well…Maybe they're right…We're just trying to look out for you…"

"Well thanks, but I can look out for myself…I'm sorry for even coming here, I'll get my stuff…"

Thus the young sibling made his way back into the household with Mia closely following after him, "Terry!"

The teenage boy stepped into the living room where the rangers excluding Nariko who went off somewhere else, were sitting there playing a card game. Terry picked up his guitar from the seat, "You don't want to help me I get it…I'll find somebody else to sing."

With that being said Terry walked out of the household with his sister staring after him in concern. Just as the guitarist walked outside, Antonio showed up at this time and approached the teenager, "Hey! You must be the musician brother!"

"Yeah…That's me…"

"So…Do you play as well as Mia cooks?"

"Dude I hope not."

Antonio laughed a bit and lightly patted Terry's shoulder "Dude I'm just messing with you. Hey I'm Antonio, you're not leaving are you? Because I was hoping to jam with you."

"Umm…I don't know if I'm really up for…"

Terry trailed off once spotting the electric guitar strapped to Antonio's back, "Wait…Do you sing?"

"I sing a little when I'm down at the pier…The fish never complain…But I do know someone else that can sing."

"Really, who?"

"You've already met Nariko, haven't you?"

"Yeah…But I had no clue she could sing."

"Oh but she can! It's rare that she sings in front of others but often does it when she's alone…Is Nariko alone right now?"

"Uh…I think so…I didn't see any signs of her in the household."

"Then that means she's in the garden, come on!"

The two musicians quickly made their way to the garden and found the Yamada princess sitting by herself on the bench. The two immediately hid behind a bush and listened to Nariko who had begun singing.

Terry was completely blown away by how beautiful the princess sings, he looked to Antonio whispering, "Incredible! Nariko has an amazing voice!"

"See? What did I tell you?"

The two soon heard Nariko finishing up her song and once she did, Antonio and Terry came out from behind the bush clapping. The sound made Nariko jump a bit and looked to find the two musicians standing there, "Antonio, Terry! How long have you been there?"

"Long enough for us to hear your wonderful voice." Told Antonio

"You heard that?"

"Yeah! Nariko if you don't mind…I would very much like to have you and Antonio as my singers for tonight's gig." Said Terry

"Oh…Well I-I'm not sure…" said the princess

"Oh come on Nariko, it'll be fun!" said Antonio

"W-Well….I suppose…"

"Fantastico! Well come on then we need to get going and start practicing!"

The gold ranger ran over to the Yamada princess, gently grabbing her by the arm and dragging her away.

"W-Wait a minute! What about Jayden? If I don't tell him where I'm going he'll immediately get worried." Said Nariko

"Don't worry we'll be back right before he notices you're gone!"

"But Antonio!"

The gold ranger simply ignored the rest of the princess' protests and continued dragging her away with Terry closely following them.

The three of them soon reached the place where the gig was going to be held at. Immediately Nariko, Antonio and Terry started practicing with the band. Currently Antonio and Terry were practicing the song they were going to perform on their guitars while Nariko was looking over the lyrics.

While strumming his guitar Antonio began to lowly sing the song "~Everyday …All we want to have is…" he stopped to adjust some things and turned to Nariko.

"Hey you ready Nariko?"

"Yeah I'm ready."

"Let me hear you sing a little bit." Said Terry

"Ok…~Everyday all we want to have is fun, fun, fun~…"

"Excellent! You guys ready?"

The whole band nodded and got ready with their instruments while Nariko stood in front of the microphone. Thus music filled the air as the band began to play and the Yamada princess began to sing with Antonio joining in.

"~Everyday! All we want to have is fun, fun, fun! Fun anyway so just come and join us one by one…Let's just make this party last! ~"

The band ceased playing their music and Terry looked at his band members smiling at them, "Man we are definitely tight!"

"You said it! Oh man I can't wait!" said Antonio

20 minutes later back at the household Terry returned and knocked upon the door. It opened to reveal Emily who brightly smiled at the teenager, "Hey Terry! Uh…Mia is not in right now but you're welcome to come in and wait."

"No thanks…I've got a lot of these to pass out."

He handed the yellow ranger some flyers who nodded at this, "Cool thanks!"

"Hope to see you there!"

Terry then took his leave and Emily closed the door, as she did the ranger looked over the flyer and was surprise to find Antonio and Nariko's name on it, "Featuring Antonio and Nariko?"

Meanwhile with Mia, she had ventured out into the city alone in order to think. Currently she was sitting on the bench thinking over what happened earlier at the household, "Why can't Terry just focus on his future and not his rock band? Wait…Oh…I do sound like Mom…We did use to have some fun…"

She thought back to the times when she and Terry were little, always having fun with their band singing together. The pink ranger giggled at the thought of this, "The world's greatest band…"

"Hey, hey pretty girl!"

Mia looked to find a tall skinny guy quickly approaching her with something in his hand. Her samuraizer soon beeped to which she quickly brought out and looked at, "Nighlok attack!"

The pink ranger stood up from the bench and turned to the skinny guy as he stopped in front of her, "I'm sorry but I'm kind of in a hurry!"

Completely out of breath the skinny guy tried to talk and at the same time handed her a flyer. Mia immediately took the flyer out of his hands, "For me? Ok thanks but I really have to go, thanks again!" with that said the pink ranger quickly ran off to join up with the others.

Meanwhile with Jayden, Antonio, Kevin, Mike and Emily they quickly arrived at the area of the nighlok appearance only to be caught off guard from an attack by Serrator. The rangers were then surrounded by a group of moogers to which they easily defended themselves from.

Jayden turned towards Serrator with his spin sword at the ready, "I'd go back to the Netherworld if I were you!"

"But you're not!"

The evil nighlok sent a power attack at the rangers that immediately sent the group falling to the ground in pain.

Serrator evilly chuckled at this and slowly approached his enemies, "This is much better! With you rangers out of the way I can finally put my plan into action, it's a nightmare come true!"

A crackling sound filled the air and Serrator turned to find a lightning sphere quickly coming towards him, before he could move out of the way the nighlok was hit by the sphere. He let out a pained cry as electricity flow through his body.

Serrator feel down on one knee and looked around growling, "Who in the world did that?"

His gaze soon landed on the cloaked form of Nariko who had her sais out, "Ah…So we finally meet…"

"Look it's that cloaked figure again!" exclaimed Emily

"I'm actually glad that this person showed up." Admitted Mike

"But it's dangerous for them to face Serrator alone!" told Jayden

"And they won't have to!"

Mia showed up at this time in her ranger form and stood by Nariko's side, "Serrator whatever your plan is I'm here to stop it!"

"Ha! The two of you stopping me?"

Serrator got to his feet and charged the two girls who quickly dodge the nighlok. Together they began attacking Serrator who was a bit surprised by this, "You both got spirit I'll grant you that but I hate spirit!"

He went in to attack Mia straight on but Nariko quickly got in front of her. In turn she got hit in the gut hard by Serrator and flew back a few feet. The princess tumbled to the ground letting out a painful grunt.

Mia quickly went to her side, "Oh no! Are you all right?"

Serrator took this time to approach the two girls with his weapon in hand. Jayden saw this and quickly pulled out the black box, "Mia you need this!"

She immediately caught the box and placed it upon her spin sword, "Thanks that will help!"

And with the power of the black box, Mia successfully landed an attack on Serrator which wounded him. Greatly angered by this the nighlok glared at the pink ranger "Now that hurt!"

"Good! That's what you get for hurting an ally of ours!"

Jayden and the others got up at this time to join Mia and help her protect Nariko from Serrator.

Though he was wounded Serrator managed to get back on his feet, "You think you've won? This party is just getting started!"

The nighlok pulled out a drawing and threw it into the air, using his evil magic Serrator summoned his large minion Papyrox to take care of the rangers.

Mia turned and kneeled by Nariko's cloaked form, "Are you going to be all right?"

Still in pain from Serrator's attack Nariko managed to say in a low voice, "Yes I'll be fine…Don't worry about me…Just take care of that nighlok."

"You can count on us, just stay here and we'll be right back!"

And with that the rangers left to deal with Serrator's minion along with some moogers and spitfangs. The evil minions didn't stand a chance against the rangers' megazords and were immediately defeated. Once obtaining their victory in battle the rangers quickly made their way back to the place where they left Nariko by herself.

To their dismay they found no signs of her in the area, Emily looked around, "They're gone!"

"What surprises me the most is how a person can leave this place after receiving a serious injury in battle?" wondered Kevin

"I agree…But hopefully that person will be ok…Come on let's head back to the household." Said Jayden

Later that night Kevin, Mike, Jayden and Emily got ready for the concert. Currently the four rangers were in the kitchen when Mia strolled in and went over to the refrigerator, grabbing a drink.

Surprised by how she looked right now Emily asked, "Mia aren't you coming to the concert?"

"I think I'm just going to turn in…"

"Mia…Is there a problem between you and your brother?" asked Kevin

The pink ranger sighed at this, "He's supposed to be volunteering at the hospital, not playing some gig."

Emily nodded at her answer, "Oh…Ok…But after that long battle we're kind of going to blow off some steam."

With that being said Emily took her leave from the kitchen with the guys following. Once they were gone Mia let out another sigh and pulled out the flyer that was handed to her earlier.

"A flyer for Terry's concert, great…"

Her eyes soon caught the rest of the words on the bottom and couldn't help but wonder out loud, "It's a concert for charity?"

At the concert hall just as a pair had finished up their singing, Antonio peeked from behind the curtain to get a good look at the audience. He then made his way over to Terry, Nariko and the rest of the bad.

"We're up next…Is Mia out there?" asked Terry

"I don't see any of our friends." Told Antonio

"Oh…"

Seeing the look on the boy's face caused Nariko to pat his back, "Hey…I'm pretty sure that they'll be here."

"Nariko is right, so come on let's rock the house!" said Antonio

Thus the band made their way on stage and quickly got ready for their performance. Once they were ready the MC proudly announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome The Rebel Rockers!"

Everyone cheered as the band began to play and Nariko began singing with Antonio joining in. During their performance Jayden and the other rangers showed up, they took their seats and began to enjoy the band's performance.

Little did they know Mia had showed up at the concert and was watching from the side. She smiled once setting eyes upon her little brother and quickly made her way backstage. As the song progressed on and coming to one part of the lyrics Antonio and Nariko immediately took notice of the third voice joining in.

The two and Terry looked, much to their delight saw Mia coming out from backstage with a microphone in her hand singing along. She smiled at her brother and two friends, Mia gave Nariko a hug as the girls and Antonio continued singing together.

The pink ranger then motioned her brother to come over and stand beside them, to which he happily did and continued on with their performance. Their song soon ended and the whole audience loudly cheered for the band who took their bows.

15 minutes later the concert finally ended and everyone began making their way home. Currently backstage Antonio was putting up his instrument with Nariko by his side, drinking some water.

"Nariko, Antonio!"

The two looked to find Jayden, Emily, Mike and Kevin making their way backstage. Mike smiled at the two, "You guys were awesome, thanks for inviting us!"

Emily ran over enveloping Antonio and Nariko in a tight hug, "Yeah! Look at you two being rockstars!"

Once the yellow ranger let go, Antonio happily sighed, "It was an incredible experience but…It can't beat fishing."

They laughed at this and the group playfully push the gold ranger for his silliness, Jayden then went over to his fiance cupping her face, "You sang beautifully out there and you looked amazing."

"Oh you're sweet and thanks Jayden."

The couple shared a sweet kiss before enveloping each other in a hug, but as Jayden wrapped his arms a bit tightly around Nariko's waist she winced in pain and lightly pushed her red ranger away while gently gripping her stomach.

He immediately became concerned by this, "Nariko are you ok?"

"Uh…Yeah just a little stomach ache…I'll be fine…"

"Are you sure it's just that?"

"Yes I'm sure Jayden…"

Not at all convinced by this Jayden simply nodded, "Ok…If you say so…"

The red ranger then thought, "Somehow I have a feeling it's not a stomach ache at all…Nariko is holding the same spot that the cloaked figure got hit by Serrator and was in serious pain…I have this feeling that the cloaked figure and Nariko are the same person…I don't like this feeling one bit…"

"Well come on you guys let's get out of here and grab something to eat, I'm starving!" said Mike

The others nodded at this and began to leave the stage area, as the rangers went on ahead Nariko looked to her fiance and noticed the thoughtful look on his face, "Jayden?"

Brought out of his thoughts, the red ranger looked at her, "Yeah?"

"You coming? Kevin and the others went ahead of us."

"Yeah I am…Come on we don't want to be left behind."

Jayden grabbed Nariko's hand and the couple quickly left to catch up with their friends, though the red ranger couldn't help but thought, "One way or another I'm gonna find out that cloaked figure's identity and if it is Nariko…She and I are going to have a serious talk with each other…"


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

It happened to be another training filled day at the Shiba household, currently inside Mike and Emily were sparring in the dojo with Kevin watching over the two. The rangers quickly dodge or blocked the others attacks when Emily managed to knock Mike onto the ground.

The green ranger let out a painful grunt, causing Emily to quickly go over to this side, "Mike are you ok?"

Mike then took this opportunity to grab the yellow ranger by the arms and throw her over him. She let out a cry of surprise before letting out a grunt once hitting the practice mats.

Mike slowly sat up and looked back at the yellow ranger, "Point."

Kevin nodded in approval at this, "Good job Mike!"

The blue ranger then made his way over to the yellow ranger and kneels by her side, "Emily…You are too nice, you are going to need to toughen up."

She made no comment at this but slowly sat up, keeping her gaze to the floor. At this time Mia showed up in the dojo with a newspaper in hand, "Hey guys! Hey Em!"

The pink ranger held up the newspaper that had a big ad on it, "Did you forget about the big sale?"

Emily quickly looked up at the sound of this and smiled, "Oh yeah!"

"Well come on then!"

"Go on Em, you've been working hard we'll continue with this later." Told Mike

"Cool!"

And with that Emily got up on her feet, running over to Mia. The girls quickly made their leave from the household with Mike and Kevin watching the two.

Just as the girls stepped out of the household, they spotted Nariko with Jayden at the garden. Emily turned to the pink ranger, "Hey Mia…Why don't we invite Nariko along?"

"That's a great idea Emily!"

The two rangers quickly made their way over to the couple and called out to the Yamada princess, "Nariko!"

She turned around and smiled once seeing who had just called her, "Oh hello Mia, Emily…Do you need something?"

The girls stopped in front of the princess and Emily gently grabbed Nariko's arm, "Well…Mia and I were wondering if you wanted to go shopping with us?"

"You want me to come along?"

"Definitely! We barely have any girl time because of the recent nighlok attacks." Said Mia

"Well you do have a point there…"

Jayden came up behind Nariko and wrapped his arms around her stomach, "I say you go along Nariko it gives you at least something to do."

"You sure Jayden?"

"Of course I want you to at least get out of the household and have fun."

Nariko lightly sighed at this and smiled at the two female rangers, "All right let's go shopping girls!"

Both Emily and Mia cheered at this, Jayden chuckled a bit and kissed his fiance on the cheek "Call me when you girls are heading back to the household, ok?"

"I will."

"You girls be careful."

Nariko turned around in Jayden's hold and gave him a quick peck on the lips. As she got out of his hold the red ranger grabbed the princess' hand and pulled her back to him in order to get a proper kiss.

Once receiving the kiss Jayden wanted he pulled away and watched as the three girls make their leave from the Shiba household.

20 minutes passed for the girls to arrive at the store, once entering the building Emily and Mia quickly picked out some clothes for themselves and Nariko before making their way to the fitting room. The girls had a lot of fun trying on different clothes and doing little struts, currently Nariko was in a white sundress and hat looking at herself in the mirror while Emily and Mia were trying on more clothes.

"So…Is this a tough look or what?"

Nariko turned around as she heard this and saw Emily wearing a white t-shirt, camouflage pants, tan boots and sunglasses. She made a tiny face at this and looked to Mia who had the same face, the two shared a look with each other then turn their attention on the yellow ranger.

"Wow…Emily…Interesting but…Nah…" told Mia

"But what? I'm just trying to be as tough as you and the others…"

Nariko walked over to the yellow ranger and gently grabbed her shoulders, giving them a squeeze "Em…You're tough in your own way."

As she and Mia continued to look through the clothes that were picked, Emily couldn't help but sigh a little and think back to what Kevin said to her earlier at the household.

10 minutes later after picking the clothes they wanted, the girls went to the cash register to pay their clothing. While doing so a guy by the name of Spike who Mia happened to have met a few days ago spotted the girls at the register.

He started to pull on the sleeve of his Uncle Bulk who had come along with him to the store, "Hey it's that girl Mia!"

Bulk nudges his nephew's shoulder "Well? Go on Romeo! This is your big chance, you've got to talk to her before she leaves!"

"I-I can't!"

Spike soon sighed in disappointment as he watched the girls leave the store, he then spotted something on the floor and gasp.

Bulk looked to his nephew once he did this, "What is it?"

Spike pointed to a pink wallet on the floor, "Look that's hers!"

He quickly ran over to pick the item up before chasing after the group, with the girls they were a few feet away from the shop when Mia's samuraizer went off.

The pink ranger stopped in her tracks to answer the call, "Yes?...All right we're on our way."

"You girls go on I'll take your stuff back to the household." Told Nariko

"Thanks Nariko!"

Emily and Mia quickly handed their shopping bags to the princess before darting off while Nariko went the other way. Just as she turned a corner Spike had just ran out of the shop calling Mia's name, "Hey, hey Mia!"

Spike then grunted in surprise as his uncle bumped into him, "Well Spike?"

"I was too late, she's already gone!"

Bulk took the wallet out of his nephew's hand "Oh but look! We have a wallet and a driver's license!"

Spike took the wallet back from his uncle and took a good look at Mia's picture, "Oh…She has a pretty picture…"

"Yeah! That and we have her address, now all you have to do is take this back to her and you can be her hero!" Bulk pointed out

Meanwhile with the rangers they encountered a nighlok by the name of Grinataur who was making people hungry and thirsty by shooting them with his black sand. As the rangers fought with the moogers that Grinataur sent to fight them, Emily saw an opening and took this chance to prove to the others that she was tough.

Though as she tried to go against the nighlok on her own, Grinataur overpowered the yellow ranger making Emily collapse the ground and powering down. Seeing what just happened to their fellow ranger, Kevin and Mia quickly made their way over to help Emily just as Grinataur sent his black sand at her.

The two rangers quickly got in front of Emily to protect her, in turn they got hit by the sand and just by being hit, Kevin and Mia powered down collapsing right in front of the yellow ranger.

"Mia, Kevin!" groaned Emily

Kevin groaned a bit as he tried to sit up, gripping his stomach, "I'm starving!"

Mia gasps and put a hand to her throat, "So very…Thirsty!"

"Oh no…" Emily quietly said, she then looked to the remaining rangers exclaiming, "They've been hit!"

Jayden looked to the yellow ranger when she said this then to Mike and Antonio, "Go cover Emily!"

The two rangers did what they were told; unfortunately they were also hit by Grinataur's sand. Just like what happened to Kevin and Mia, Antonio and Mike powered down collapsing to the ground.

The green ranger groaned before spitting, "Ugh! It feels like I had a sand sandwich!"

Jayden quickly finished off the rest of the moogers and ran over to Emily, standing in front of her with his spin sword drawn, "Don't worry I'll protect you!"

"Heads up!" told Grinataur, the nighlok sent a little bit of sand towards the red ranger which successfully made a hit.

Xandred's minion soon groans in disappointment, "Oh I'm out of dirt! You lucked out, I'm gonna have to reload again to finish you off properly!"

With that being said the nighlok made his escape through the gap, once he was gone Jayden powered down and fell to one knee. He gripped his throat, groaning and coughing a bit Emily who was witnessing this said to herself, "I've got to fix this…"

Back at the household Jayden, Mia, Kevin, Mike and Antonio quickly made their way to the kitchen. Once being there, the group began eating all the food that's there. Emily quickly went to get Ji and Nariko, bringing them to the kitchen in order for them to see what's going on. Upon entering the room the two were shocked at what they saw.

"This is crazy!" exclaimed Ji

"And it's all because of me…They took that hit because I was trying to prove that I was tough…" admitted Emily

Thus the three tried to take away most of the food that the rangers were eating, though they were not giving up without a fight. This went on for quite some time until the doorbell rung; Ji ceased taking the food away from Kevin and Mike looking around in wonder, "What now?"

Turns out to be Bulk and Spike, trying to return Mia's wallet as Ji tried to get rid of the two he heard Nariko yell from the kitchen, "Jayden give me that popcorn or I'll be force to put you down!"

"Uh…Can you wait right there? I'll be right back!" told Ji to the two guys before running back to the kitchen.

Upon arriving Ji spotting Kevin trying to eat some flour, "No!" he ran to the blue ranger and grabbed the bag, though Kevin wouldn't let go and soon the two were playing tug of war with the bag until Mike joined in. Soon all of the flour ended up on Ji, Nariko who had witnessed this covered her mouth in shock.

"Hey! I was going to eat that!" exclaimed Mike

Ji looked to the Yamada princess, "I need to change."

"B-But wait Ji!"

Nariko then turned her attention on her fiance and Antonio who had begun to fight over a bag of chips, "Will you two knock it off? And give me that bag!"

It didn't take long for Ji to quickly come back to the kitchen after having a little talk with Bulk and Spike, he immediately went over to Emily and grabbed her shoulder, "Emily you have to get rid of those two out there! They think this is a dojo, they think they want to be samurai!"

The yellow ranger went over to the door leading into the practice room, "What are you talking about?"

She opened the door just a crack to see Bulk and Spike messing with some of the equipment, Emily quietly gasp and close the door saying to herself, "It's that guy Mia met from the factory…That other guy must be from his friend…"

The yellow ranger thought for a bit before a smile came upon her face, "I have an idea."

Emily went out into the practice room wearing a disguise, keeping Bulk and Spike busy with exercise drills. Once making sure that they were distracted she left out of the room to change out of her disguise and join the others back in the kitchen. There she found the rangers gathered around Nariko and Ji who had watermelons set on the counter.

"If you're going to keep eating like this…Then we're going to make it healthy." Told Ji

Nariko set down a plate of sliced pieces of watermelons, once doing so the rangers immediately grab the fruit, went to their own corners and began scarfing it down. Emily watched her friends for a bit before making her way over to Nariko and Ji.

Her gaze went to the watermelons on the counter and she grabbed one, looking at it. Seeing this Ji couldn't help but wonder aloud, "What are you doing?"

"Being creative." Told Emily

Soon Emily busied Bulk and Spike by having them hold watermelons in their hands and on their heads until the gap sensor went off. In the kitchen Jayden immediately stopped his eating and looked to the sensor, "The nighlok is back, I've got to go!"

Before he ran out of the kitchen Jayden quickly grabbed a cookie and then ran out of the room having Nariko yell after him, "Wait Jayden you're not ok! Emily!"

Hearing the princess' cry Emily turned around to see Jayden running over to the living room table to look at the city map. Once having the nighlok's location the red ranger ran out of the household.

"I've got to go help Jayden!" said Emily to herself, before leaving the household she made Bulk and Spike's task harder in order to keep them busy. Once making sure that they were completely distracted by their task Emily ran out of the building to catch up with Jayden.

Soon Emily arrived at the battle to find Grinataur having the upper hand on Jayden. The yellow ranger quickly ran over to her leader and defended him against one of Grinataur's attacks. A bit caught off guard by her appearance, the nighlok charged at Emily.

She managed to put off most of Grinataur's attacks but the nighlok caught her off guard with a surprise attack. Emily fell to one knee and Jayden's amazement she was able to get back up again.

Impressed by her will to not give up, the red ranger quickly handed Emily the black box. Once having the weapon in hand, the yellow ranger used its powers that help her defeat Grinataur. By doing so this managed to break the spell the nighlok casted on everyone the monster came in contact with.

At the household Ji and Nariko were resting their heads on the counter while the other rangers sat in different places, calmly eating snacks. And to their surprise they heard Mia questioned out loud, "What are we doing?"

Nariko and Ji looked to find the rangers standing, looking around the kitchen in confusion. Ji quickly grabbed towels and handed them to the rangers, "No time to explain, the nighlok has returned! Hawk Side Trails! But wait the back way!"

"Got it!" said Mike, who quickly left out of the kitchen along with the others.

Both Ji and Nariko sighed in relief, only to be surprise by Mike's sudden return to the kitchen. The green ranger quickly grabbed a cookie, winked at the two and ran back out.

Nariko scoffed at this and rolled her eyes, "Typical Mike…"

Kevin and the rest of the rangers met up with Jayden and Emily in order to form the megazord. Once combining the zords together and with the power from the black box, the rangers were able to defeat Grinataur for good. Though once the battle was over Emily quickly left her team to return to the Shiba household, in order to deal with Spike and Bulk.

To her amusement she found Bulk and Spike trying to escape, once confronting them in her disguise Emily learned that the only reason why they were here was to return Mia's wallet. She then told the two they did a good job and she'll see them tomorrow, but as she walked away Emily had a strong feeling that Bulk and Spike weren't coming back at all which put a smile upon her face, feeling pleased with her work today.

Later in the kitchen Emily joined Nariko and Ji at the counter, trying to rest from today's ordeal. Mike happened to be in the kitchen also, most likely looking for something to snack on.

To his displeasure he found no food in the empty refrigerator, "Hey! Who ate everything?"

Nariko who had her head down on the counter groaned at this while Ji and Emily shook their heads at the green ranger. At this time Jayden and Antonio came in, carrying a chess pieces and board in order to play a game at the table.

Mia also happens to enter the kitchen at this time, "Hey…Has anyone seen my wallet?"

Emily smiled at the pink ranger and held up the item she was looking for, "You dropped it in the store."

Mia returned the smile and went to retrieve her wallet, once she had it in hand the pink ranger looked at Emily in wonder.

With a smile still on her face Emily said, "Don't ask."

Mia simply just shrugged at her answer and casually walked out of the kitchen, only to have Kevin enter at this time.

The blue ranger looked around the room for a bit before focusing his attention on Ji, Nariko and Emily, "What exactly happened here today?"

The Yamada princess looked at the blue ranger, with her head still resting on the counter, "If you only knew…The toughest day ever…" she looked at the yellow ranger, "Right Emily?"

Emily smiled at the princess and nodded, "You said it Nariko…"

Antonio and Jayden looked at each other, sharing a look then to Kevin who made a face and shrugged his shoulders. Nariko and Emily happen to catch this and began to giggle, both planning to tell the boys and Mia today's events sooner or later but for now, they'll have them keep wondering.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Currently at the Shiba household Nariko was in the vegetable garden, picking some food and also observing Kevin and Mike as they practiced. Mike had picked up an apple from a bowl and bit into it, then turned to Kevin.

"Bet I can beat you using only one arm!" declared the green ranger

Kevin smirked and nodded, accepting the challenge. The two rangers got into their stances and began sparring with their spin swords. Mike gave a cocky smirk as he stopped Kevin's sword and bit into his apple. Taking this small opportunity the blue ranger knocked Mike's sword out of his hand.

As the spin sword fell to the ground with a loud clang, Kevin positioned his sword right at Mike's neck. Though to his surprise and confusion, Mike stabbed his apple right into the tip of Kevin's sword. While the blue ranger was distracted by this, Mike quickly picked up his spin sword and positioned it at Kevin's neck.

"I win and you got served!" Mike proudly declared

"That doesn't count!" exclaimed Kevin

Nariko rolled her eyes at this and began making her way to the household, carrying a basket of vegetables "Here we go again…When will those two be on the same page?"

Mike scoffed a bit and brush pass Kevin while studying his sword, "Hey I can't compete with your technique so I have no choice but to outwit you."

Kevin stopped for a moment and looked to his fellow ranger, "Was that a compliment?"

Mike who was drinking water at this time, stopped and looked to his teammate, "Me? Compliment you? Ha, no way!"

Nariko stopped at the front door and looked at the two rangers, "If you two could work together as well as you compete against each other, you both would be twice as strong."

Jayden happened to be watching this from the doorway and joined his fiancé's side, wrapping his arm around her waist, "Nariko is right you two, it's best that you take her advice."

Suddenly the gap sensor went off making the guys look at the blinking symbol. Jayden gave a quick kiss to Nariko on the cheek before running inside. Before Kevin could follow after his leader, Mike put his arm out in front of him stopping the blue ranger, "Wait…It looks like it's our chance to show Nariko just how well we work together!"

With that being said Mike slightly push Kevin back and ran inside, though as he did Mike bumped into Nariko making her throw up the basket of vegetables. Kevin rushed forward and caught the falling basket, along with the vegetables.

He handed the basket to the Yamada princess, "Here you go Nariko."

"Thank you Kevin…" Nariko looked into the household, "Mike!"

"Sorry Nariko!" Mike faintly said since he was already inside the household

Nariko shook her head and looked to the blue ranger, "You better get going."

Kevin smiled a bit and quickly joined is team inside the Shiba household.

At the city the ranger team met up with the nighlok named Epoxor who was sticking people together with a special glue of his. The rangers did their best to get rid of the nighlok but to their dismay and to Epoxor's delight Kevin and Mike were hit by the nighlok's glue. This made the two unable to fight since they were too busy trying break out of the glue.

Seeing how they were completely distracted Epoxor quickly made his back to the netherworld and prepare for another attack later. Once the nighlok was gone, both Kevin and Mike powered down, still struggling against the glue that was on their wrists, bounding the two together.

"Did you hear what he said?" questioned Mike, "Unless we defeat him I think we'll be stuck like this forever!"

"Forever?" exclaimed Kevin

The rangers soon made their way back to the household and currently were gathered in the living room, along with Nariko and Ji. Jayden had Kevin and Mike sit down on the ground, bringing out his spin sword.

"Ready guys?" asked Jayden

Mike bravely nodded at his question, "Go for it Jayden, we're ready as we'll ever be."

Kevin couldn't help but look at his leader warily as the red ranger positioned his sword at the glue bounding their wrists. Jayden then raised his sword and quickly brought it down, to everyone's surprise the strike bounced off and forced Jayden to fall back into the chair.

Kevin sighed in disappointment, "I'm sorry guys…"

Emily quickly went the guys' side, "It wasn't your fault, you guys didn't do anything wrong!"

"We let that nighlok get away!" the blue ranger exclaimed

"And we could be like this forever!" reminded Mike

"We'll fix this as soon as the nighlok comes back." Told Mia

Mike scoffed and looked to the pink ranger, "And what if he doesn't? Then what?

"He'll come back…They always do." Assured Jayden

Ji paced for a bit and looked to his two students, "And when he does, you two will be in no condition to face him."

The two rangers looked at their samurai mentor in shock, "What? No!"

Nariko sighed a bit and nodded, "Ji is right…Jayden and the others will have to handle it."

"No we won't let the team down again! We'll learn how to fight like this!" told Kevin

Mike nodded in agreement, "All right let's do this!"

The two rangers struggled to stand together but once they did, the two stumbled into the hallway and made their way outside.

"Now this should be interesting." Said Antonio, as he along with the other rangers and Nariko made their way outside.

There Mike and Kevin held a practice sword as they faced Mia who volunteered to help the two. The blue ranger looked to his teammate as they got ready to fight, "All right let's start with basic Kesigiri."

Though as they lifted the sword together Mike lost his balance for a bit and stepped on Kevin's foot. This made the blue ranger cry out in pain and looked to his teammate, "Ah! My foot!"

"You pulled me that way!" told Mike

Kevin grunted and shook off the pain, "Come on Mike focus!"

The two soon got back into their stance and Mia took this as a sign to begin, she charged forward and attacked the two rangers head on. They managed to block her first attack but Mia quickly smacked Mike hard in the butt.

"Ow!" yelped Mike, he then looked to Kevin, "That was your fault! You keep pulling me around!"

"Come on! Left to right, left to right!"

"I was doing that!"

"Oh do it the other way!"

"Oh come on!"

Emily sighed a bit and took a seat next to Antonio, "This is awful…"

Nariko who was sitting on the other side of the gold ranger, was gently rubbing her temples, "I'll say…I think I'm starting to get a headache from their arguing."

Jayden who stood by his fiance, heard this rubbed her back and laid a kiss on her head before making his way over to Kevin and Mike, "Look…I know you can pull this off but first you'll have to get in sync!"

"Tell it to this guy!" exclaimed Mike, he jerked to the side a little bit too hard causing him and Kevin to fall to the ground with a loud thud.

The red ranger shook his head and knelt by his two teammates, "You think you guys are fighting this glue but you're really fighting yourselves more."

Later on that day Mike and Kevin were still fighting with each other when they attempted to practice their symbol powers and taking out the trash. Currently Ji was in the living room with the two rangers taking in the mess that they made with the trash."

"If you two can't work together, then try to make yourselves useful! Go…Go get some groceries and bring Nariko along with you!" told Ji

"Got it…" said Mike

"Sorry Mentor…" said Kevin

Meanwhile with the Yamada princess she was in the gardens, sitting upon the stone bench playing with her necklace.

She sighed in frustration and ceased playing with her jewelry thinking to herself, "Keeping this secret about me being the hooded figure from the others and Jayden is getting harder…My conscience is getting the better of me…I want to tell Jayden but…I know he's going to be really upset with me if I do tell him…Not only that he's been suspicious of me ever since that day at the concert…I need to be careful with what I do or else my actions will give me away…"

"Nariko?"

Being brought out of her thoughts she looked up to find her red ranger standing there, "Oh Jayden…When did you get here?"

"Just now…I thought you would at least see me approach you…"

"Sorry…I was just thinking about something…"

Jayden took a seat next to Nariko, holding her hand, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Uh…No…It's nothing anyway…"

"You sure?"

"Uh…Yeah…"

At this time Kevin and Mike approached the couple, startling them a bit. They stumbled a bit but quickly balanced themselves out. "Hope we're not interrupting you two." Said Kevin

"No you're not, what is it you need?" asked Jayden

"You don't mind if we take Nariko off your hands for a bit Jayden? Ji wanted her to go with us to get some groceries." Told Mike

"No I don't mind…" the red ranger looked to his princess, "I'll see you when you get back."

"Ok…" but as she got up and started to follow after Kevin and Mike, Nariko stopped in her tracks and turned to her red ranger, "Jayden?"

"Yeah what is it?"

She soon hesitated but then said, "I wanted to tell you…Tell you that I…"

"Tell me what?"

Nariko bit her lip for a bit before saying, "That I-I…I love you Jayden…"

He smiled at this, "Love you too Nariko."

She returned the smile and quickly followed after Kevin and Mike, though Nariko can't help but mutter to herself, "You idiot! What were you thinking? About to tell your secret right then and there! Stupid conscience for making me feel so guilty about keeping a secret from my fiance!"

Later at the grocery store Kevin, Mike and Nariko had just finished purchasing the food and were currently making their leave from the store. Before Nariko could grab the two bags, Kevin and Mike quickly grabbed them before she could.

"Don't worry Nariko we'll carry the bags!" told Mike

"Are you two sure, you can do that?" asked the princess

"It'll make good practice for us." Said Kevin

With that being said the two rangers stumbled out of the store with the Yamada princess closely following behind. To her dismay the two guys fell to the ground after Kevin jerked to the side too hard.

She quickly went to the two rangers helping them up, "Are you guys ok?"

"I'm sorry." Said Kevin

Mike shook his head at this, "Forget it, we have bigger things to worry about…Like how we're going to get the grocery home?"

Nariko took the bags from them, "Which is probably why Ji wanted me to go, I'll take the bags from here."

Mike sighed a bit and looked around, his eyes soon landed on the shopping carts and immediately he came up with an idea. The green ranger got in front of the princess before she began walking away, "Wait Nariko I've got an idea!"

15 minutes later the three of them were walking through a park, Mike was currently riding in the shopping cart with the grocery bags while Kevin pushed the cart and Nariko following behind.

"You know Mike…I gotta say…" started Kevin

"If you're going to ask to switch places, forget it."

"No, I was going to tell you how impressed I am with this idea! You're always so creative."

"Oh…Well I have to be I don't have your mad skills."

"Hey…Was that a compliment?"

Nariko giggled a bit while Mike cracked a small smile and pointed his finger at Kevin, "Hey you tricked me.

Suddenly the blue ranger stopped in his tracks and began to look around, this caused Nariko to look around also "What is it Kevin? Is something wrong?"

His gaze soon landed on something having Nariko and Mike look too, to find that the blue ranger was staring at a park restroom.

"I drank a lot of juice this morning…" told Kevin

Immediately knowing what that meant Mike quickly asked, "Now tell me you're just kidding!" to his dismay Kevin quickly began pushing the cart to the public restroom causing the green ranger to groan "No not the bathroom!"

Nariko couldn't help but burst out laughing at the whole thing while patiently waiting for the blue ranger to be done with his business.

5 more minutes passed and the three were still making their way back to the Shiba household. Though to their surprise they spotted Jayden and the other rangers quickly running pass them which only meant one thing; that Epoxor was back and creating more trouble with his glue.

Mike and Kevin looked to Nariko who nodded, "Go on and I'll see you two back at the house and remember you need to work in sync if you have any hope to defeat the nighlok."

"Don't worry you can count on us Nariko!" told Mike

And thus Kevin began quickly pushing the cart off to the area where Jayden and the others went to. Nariko stayed for a bit and watched as Kevin and Mike made their leave before thinking to herself, "I think it's best to stay out of this one fight…I don't want to rouse Jayden's suspicion even more…Besides I think Mike and Kevin got this covered."

And it just so happens the Yamada princess was right, when Jayden and the others were stuck in Epoxor's glue Kevin and Mike stepped up to deal with the nighlok. The two used some creative techniques together which landed successful blows on the nighlok. Combining the powers together, Kevin and Mike defeated Expoxor with the forest spear and hydro bow.

Though to their surprise Epoxor came back as a nighlok giant and was about to take care of the two when Jayden and Antonio came to their rescue in the samurai megazord and light megazord. With these two zords' powers, both Jayden and Antonio successfully defeated Epoxor once and for all.

Back at the Shiba household, Kevin and Mike were currently in the kitchen putting away the groceries. Ji, Mia, Emily and Jayden were there too watching their fellow rangers as they passed each other different groceries in complete sync with one another.

"It looks like they found their synchronicity." Said Mia

"Eggs." Said Mike to Kevin, the blue ranger looked to his teammate in surprise as he tossed them, "Wait Mike no!"

To their dismay the egg carton fell to the floor and all of the eggs cracked, spilling yolk all over the ground. Ji and the others began to laugh a little while Nariko walked into the kitchen at this time. She looked at the mess on the kitchen floor then to Kevin and Mike who were looking sheepishly at her.

The Yamada princess snapped her fingers at the two and pointed to the mess, "You two clean this mess up now."

"Sorry Nariko…" muttered the two rangers

Ji and the others laughed a bit more at the two, Kevin and Mike looked at each other before grabbing a dust pan and a brush thus beginning to clean the mess up. Jayden took this time to go over to his fiance, wrapping his arms around her.

He then noticed the far off look on her face and immediately asked, "Something wrong Nariko?"

She looked at the red ranger in wonder, "Huh?"

"I said is something wrong?"

"O-Oh it's nothing."

"You sure it's not something else?"

"Nope…"

Not completely convinced by her answer, Jayden simply let it go and kissed her head while thinking to himself, "Nariko is definitely hiding something from me…I intend to find out what it is."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Today happened to be a bright beautiful sunny day, currently Nariko was on an island not too far from the city hiking through the woods. Little did she know that Serrator was also on the same island as her, cooking up a devious plan for the island residents.

"For centuries I have planned for this fateful day…I will drive a wedge of misery into this island so deep that it will be felt in the Netherworld!" declared Serrator

He placed a Japanese paper sutra into the fire stand before him, "While these flames burn and glaze, fear will overtake the minds of the humans and the island will fall under my dark spell. The humans' fear will spread like wildfire bringing me ever closer to my ultimate goal."

Serrator then turned to Dayu and Deker who was surprisingly not destroyed at all by Jayden who according to Deker was not at his full potential, "And you my minions shall help defeat the rangers when they fall in my trap!"

Then a mooger quickly approached Serrator and whispered in his ear, very pleased at what he's hearing Serrator push the mooger aside and went over to Deker and Dayu, "It seems we have an unexpected guest heading our way."

"And who would that be?" questioned Dayu

"The one and only Yamada princess, she's hiking through the woods as we speak and I happen to have something in store for her…All I need if for one of you to go and fetch her for me."

Deker turned and began walking away, "I'll be the one to retrieve her…I shall be back soon…"

"One more thing the princess better not have one scratch on her when you return Deker, she must be in perfect condition." Told Serrator

"You have my word…After all you are the one repairing my Uramasa…"

Meanwhile with Nariko, she was still trekking through the woods taking in the scenery, "This wasn't a bad idea after all. It's actually nice getting away from the city and the nighlok attacks I should do this more often."

The princess soon arrived at a waterfall and decided to take a break, though as she began to drink water from the fall several twigs snapped behind her. Nariko quickly ceased her drinking and turned around to find no one there. She cautiously walked away from the waterfall and observed her surroundings to still find no one around.

"I must be hearing things…" muttered Nariko, but as she turned around the princess was greeted with the sight of Deker standing right behind her.

She gasps and quickly took a few steps back, "Deker! But how is that possible? You're alive!"

"Yes it would seem that way…Your precious red ranger wasn't at his full potential when we fought so I wasn't completely destroyed by that blow he delivered…Now you're coming with me."

Nariko pulled out her sais from her satchel and got into a fighting stance, "Not without a fight."

Deker smirked at this, "So be it."

The princess charged at Deker swinging her sais at him, he easily dodged her attacks and pushed her back hard. She stumbled a few feet back before regaining her balance; Nariko gripped her sais tighter causing lightning to surround the weapons.

Impressed by what he's seeing, Deker nodded his head in approval, "I see you've been holding back your true powers princess…But will it be enough to stop me?"

"We'll see about that!" Nariko charged at Deker once more and again he blocked her attacks with his temporary sword that Serrator gave him.

This completely caught the princess off guard giving Deker the opportunity to kick her in the stomach. She flew back a few feet before landing on the ground, letting out a painful grunt. Nariko struggled to get back up as Deker made his way over to her, once near he grabbed the princess by the elbow and pulled her to stand.

"I must say you put up a good fight princess, but not good enough to stop me." Told Deker

Nariko's only reply was letting out painful grunts as Deker began dragging her away. They soon arrived at the area where Serrator and Dayu are patiently waiting.

Serrator chuckled and made his way over to the two, "Very good Deker, you don't disappoint."

Deker brought Nariko forward only for her to collapse to the ground, still in pain from the fight with Deker. Serrator knelt before the Yamada princess and gripped her chin, making her look straight at the nighlok.

"So we meet again dear Yamada princess, I'm most pleased to have you here…" said Serrator, he then looked to Deker "Care to tell me what happened between the two of you?"

"She put up a fight, that's all I have to say."

"I see…" Serrator then hauled Nariko up to her feet and dragged her over to the Japanese fire stand.

Once in front of it Serrator let the princess go, having the moogers force Nariko on her knees. She tried to struggle in the moogers' grip but they had a good hold on her.

Serrator grabbed a black beaded necklace from the stand and approaches the princess, "No need to struggle, this won't hurt a bit. Having you under my control will make my plan full proof and the rangers won't be able to stop me!"

He then placed the jewelry around Nariko's neck, once doing so the necklace began to glow causing the princess to cease struggling and become unconscious.

Serrator evilly chuckled and turned away facing the stand, "Excellent…Lay her down gently moogers, it will take a bit of time before the effects of the necklace make the Yamada princess come under my control…Time which I have to spare…The dai is cast and the rangers will come to this island, but they will never leave…"

Meanwhile at the Shiba household, Ji had gathered the rangers in the living room to look at a map of the island. Ji observed the map for a bit before looking to his students, "The gap sensor has detected some odd paranormal activity on this obscured island, but no actual nighlok attack. This is also the same island Nariko went to for some time alone, I tried contacting her but communication has been cut off…I can't reach her or anyone else…"

Jayden frowned at the news and looked to the samurai mentor, "We'll go check it out." The red ranger looked to his team who nodded and follow after their leader.

30 minutes passed when the rangers arrived at the island, upon leaving the ferry they were greeted with the sight of a messed up dock but no people. While making their way through the messy dock Emily couldn't help but wonder aloud, "Where did all the people go?"

"That's what we have to find out, along with finding Nariko, we better split up into teams." Said Jayden

Mike nodded at this, "Got it." He then looked to Antonio, "Let's go buddy." And the two went off their own way while Kevin and Emily went off another way, leaving Jayden and Mia to head straight down the dock and into the town.

While investigating the town Mia quickly took notice of the people inside the buildings, shutting their windows as she and the red ranger walk by, "Look Jayden…All the people seem to be hiding…They're afraid of something…"

"Something is definitely not right here…" admitted Jayden

Soon they were contacted by Kevin after he and Emily found a young boy trying to run away from them.

"Some kind of ash fell from the sky…And when it landed on the people they all got super scared…The ash is coming from the mountain…That's also the place Nariko was last seen heading to…" informed Kevin

"All right let's regroup at the base of the mountain and come up with a plan." Told Jayden

While Jayden and Mia were making their way to the base of the mountain Kevin and Emily were stopped by Dayu while Mike and Antonio were faced with Serrator who revealed to the two rangers that this is all just a trap set up by him.

With Jayden and Mia they were at the base patiently waiting for the others to arrive, Mia looked to the red ranger, "I wish the others would get here soon."

Before he could answer, Jayden spotted someone coming towards and immediately frown once seeing who it was, "We have worries of our own Mia…Deker…Just what are you doing here?"

The nighlok swordsman stopped a few feet away from the two rangers, "Again I meet you as a sword for hire soon my sword Uramasa will be whole again." He held up his temporary sword, "But in the meantime…I can battle you with this at least for a while."

Both Mia and Jayden quickly morphed in order to fight off Deker who charged at the two. The nighlok swordsman seemed to have no problem fighting the two rangers but soon got frustrated as Mia kept getting in the way of Deker fighting Jayden.

"You're in my way!" growled the swordsman, who got Mia with his sword. As she fell to the ground Deker was about to attack her again but Jayden got in front of the pink ranger blocking the swordsman's attack.

"You rely on teammates to fight your battles now? Have you become that weak red ranger?"

"What?" wondered Jayden

"Your fiance put up a better fight than you! You've lost your edge!"

"Where's Nariko!"

Deker gave no reply but simply pushes the red ranger back and landed a powerful hit on Jayden. He tumbled to the ground and in the process he powered down, Deker stared at the ranger as he sheathed his sword, "You're pathetic! You're not worth fighting anymore, not like this…"

And with that said Deker walked away, Jayden tried to go after him but collapsed in exhaustion and became unconscious. Mia powered down at this time and quickly went to her leader's side, shaking his shoulder "Jayden? Jayden!"

Later in an abandon shrine, Jayden was currently sitting on the ground resting while Mia tried to contact the others, "Hello?...Hello?..." she then turned to her leader, "I can't reach Mentor, the nighlok's ash must be blocking all communications from the whole island…Jayden…Jayden?"

The red ranger simply just sat there, thinking back to what Deker said to him before in battle. Mia took this time to go over to her leader, placing her hand upon his shoulder, "Are you ok?"

Jayden looked at the pink ranger then looked away causing Mia to sit by his side, "Don't worry it's just a minor setback."

"No…He's right, he can see my weakness…I need to find him and Nariko…"

"You're wounded and you need to rest."

Jayden abruptly stood up from the ground, "Don't you see? Deker didn't even have his true sword Uramasa today…When he gets it back he'll be twice as deadly."

Mia stood up at this, "Jayden we have complete faith in you."

"There are things about me that you don't know…" thus the red ranger stormed out of the shrine, having Mia call after him "Jayden! Jayden don't do this!" she began running after him, "Jayden, Jayden!"

At the mountain clearing Nariko was still lying at the foot of the stand, remaining unconscious as the black necklace continued to glow. Dayu, Deker and some moogers were there also patiently waiting for Serrator to return.

While they waited Dayu looked up once hearing footsteps quickly approaching them, "Looks like we have a visitor." The moogers quickly got into formation as Jayden showed up at the sight.

He stopped in his tracks and looked to the fire stand, "So this is where the ash is coming from…Where there's smoke there's fire but not for long!" his gaze soon landed on the lying form of the Yamada princess, "Nariko…"

Dayu pushed the moogers aside and stood in front of them with a dagger in hand, "And that's as close you're going to get to the stand and the princess." Dayu then looked to the niglok swordsman, "He's all yours."

"He's not worth fighting for…"

"Fine…Then I'll finish him!"

Dayu quickly charged at the red ranger who pulled out his samuraizer and tried to morph only to be kick hard by Dayu. He fell back onto the ground and Dayu was about to attack him again until Mia showed up to stop the female nighlok.

"Mia this is too dangerous! Protect yourself I can fight my own battles." told Jayden

"Have you forgotten? We put our life in your hands and you trusted to put yours in ours! That promise isn't a weakness Jayden…We're rangers together, samurai forever I'd say more but I owe Dayu some payback."

"Ok Mia I've got your back."

The pink ranger quickly morphed and went back to fighting Dayu giving Jayden the opportunity to morph also. Though Dayu quickly managed to pin Mia to the ground and tried to land another attack on her which the pink ranger blocked with her spin sword.

"You think you can do this all alone? The other rangers have been neutralized! There is no one but the pathetic red ranger to help you!" told Dayu

"I wouldn't be so sure of that!" said Mia who pushed Dayu back hard

"Not so fast!"

Dayu looked and to her surprise saw Kevin and the others making their way over, "How did you?"

"Serrator left us hanging but luckily blue saved us!" told Mike

"It takes more than a little water to stop us!" declared Emily

"Now either you put out that fire and hand Nariko over to me or we'll put it out ourselves and save Nariko altogether." Said Jayden

Before Dayu could do anything, Serrator appeared before the rangers "You're too weak to put out anything! But you can put away those pathetic weapons, no need for a messy sword fight. Haven't you heard? The spin sword is obsolete, isn't that right Malden?"

At this moment a nighlok appeared from the gap, nodding in agreement "Indeed! The era of the laser blaster is here!" the moogers with laser blasters appeared from the gap and formed a line, aiming their guns at the rangers.

"Master blasters, fire!" ordered Malden

The moogers fired their guns and the rangers quickly dodged their fire. The moogers fired once more Jayden quickly pulled out the black box and used its powers to deflect the lasers. The rangers then took this chance to charge at the moogers as they were trying to reload their guns.

As the rangers took the moogers down one by one, Antonio finished taking care of his moogers and went straight towards Malden, landing a successful blow on the nighlok.

"So much for the era of laser blasters, you guys can't hit-" said Antonio, only to be cut off by a black blur attacking the unsuspecting gold ranger.

The other rangers watched in shock as their fellow teammate fell to the ground, Jayden and the others quickly went to his side.

"Are you all right?" asked Mike

"I'm ok…Wow! I guess I spoke a little too soon…What was that just now?" questioned Antonio who stood back up.

Getting an uneasy feeling Kevin looked up and quickly pointed, "Look up there!"

The rangers did and were completely surprised by how many master blaster moogers were on the upper level of the mountain. "There are master blasters everywhere." Said Jayden

"It's like a whole army!" exclaimed Emily

"Unbelievable…" muttered Mike

Malden who was now back up on his feet, brushed some dirt of his shoulders, "Like I said…A new era has begun. These lasers will cap your strength till there's nothing left!"

Serrator then stood by Malden's side, feeling very pleased with himself, "Not only that rangers, meet my new puppet who easily took down your gold ranger in the blink of an eye!"

He stepped aside for the rangers to see Nariko standing there in a black kimono with her sais in hand. The rangers stared at the Yamada princess in completely shock, "Nariko!"

"So tell me rangers, like her new look? I certainly do!" said Serrator

"What did you do to her?" demanded Jayden

"Why I put her under my control of course! It was just too easy that I should've done this before when she was that hooded figure who always helped you out."

Serrator then tucked a piece of hair behind Nariko's ear, "Why don't you show your dear fiance and precious rangers just what you can do princess?"

And to the rangers' surprise Nariko rushed forward and elbowed Antonio in the gut, then turned to Mia and Emily grabbing their arms and flipping them. Mike tried to stop her but ended up getting kneed in the stomach and thrown towards Kevin. Jayden quickly wrapped his arm around her neck, only for Nariko to quickly get out of his hold and kicking him hard in the chest.

Serrator evilly chuckled and clapped his hands, "That's enough for now my puppet. Let Malden have his fun and if he fails I want you to take care of the rangers for me, understand?"

Nariko walked back over to Serrator's side and gave a simple nod, satisfied with the answer Serrator began walking away, "Now if you'll excuse me I have some business to attend to."

Suddenly from out of nowhere Ji arrived on his bike, carrying something upon his back. "Mentor? What are you doing here?" questioned Jayden

Angered by the samurai mentor's sudden appearance, Malden sent some moogers towards Ji "Attack!"

The samurai mentor easily took down the group of moogers with no sweat and in turn took away their weapons, "You call this a blaster?" he took the item he was carrying off his back and uncovered it to reveal a blaster that looked like the bull zord, "Now this is a blaster!"

Ji then tossed the blaster to Jayden who admired the weapon. "Sweet…"

"It's a gift from Cody! It's called a bullzooka!" told Ji, he brought out a power disk and tossed it to the red ranger, "Fire it up!" "Thanks Mentor!"

And with the powers from the bullzooka and his spin sword, Jayden was able to defeat Malden and the master blaster moogers. Though of course Malden came back in his giant nighlok form, Jayden looked to his team, "I need to stop that fire and save Nariko…Can you guys hold him off in the bullzord? Antonio you take the lightzord."

While Kevin and the others went to take care of Malden, Jayden started approaching Nariko only to have moogers get in his way. He quickly took care of them with his blaster and continued to approach his fiance.

The red ranger soon stopped once he was a few feet away from the princess, "Nariko snap out of it! It's me Jayden!"

"Are we here to talk or are we here to fight?"

"I'm not fighting you Nariko."

"That's too bad because you don't have a choice Jayden!"

Nariko then charged at the red ranger, thrusting her sais at him. Jayden blocked her attack with his spin sword and push the princess back, "Nariko stop this I'm not fighting you!"

"That's not going to make me stop!" she charged at him again but Jayden kept blocking her attacks which began to frustrate Nariko, "Why aren't you fighting back?"

"Because I don't want to hurt you!"

Nariko growled and kicked Jayden in the chest hard, causing him to fall onto his back. The princess then walked over to the red ranger and stood over him, "You made this too easy for me Jayden…Time to end this…"

"Nariko I know you're in there, I can't help you if you don't fight Serrator's control on you! Please snap out of it, I love you!"

The princess scoffed at this and raised her sais which was surrounded in lightning, ready for one more attack when suddenly she stopped. Nariko let go of her sais which fell to the ground and she held her head in pain, "Wh-What's happening to me?"

"Nariko!" exclaimed Jayden

She took a few steps back still holding her head and began grunting in pain, "I-I can't! No…I-I must fight!" the princess soon cried out in pain, causing Jayden to quickly stand "Nariko!"

She looked to the red ranger still holding her head, "J-Jayden…The n-necklace…Get it off me!"

Not needing to be told twice, Jayden quickly approached the princess and grabbed the black beaded necklace. He pulled hard on it and in turn the jewelry broke into pieces, the red ranger quickly took a step back as Nariko let out a loud cry of pain and a black aura came shooting out of her body, disappearing in the air.

The princess heavily panted and tiredly looked to her red ranger, "Jay…Jayden…" she then collapsed right on the spot, having Jayden rush forward and quickly catch his fiance, "Nariko!"

Relieved to have his fiance back in his arms, Jayden held her close and laid a kiss upon her forehead. He then looked to the fire stand and aimed his blaster at it, Jayden fired one shot at the stand completely destroying it. In turn the island inhabitants were released from the fearful dark magic, making everything go back to normal.

Once the stand was destroyed Jayden slowly stood up, still holding Nariko in his arms. At this time Deker decided to approach the ranger, Jayden saw this and tightened his hold on his fiance while pointing his blaster at the swordsman.

Deker smirked a bit at this, "So you're starting get your samurai spirit back." He drew his sword, "But that thing is no match for a swift blade." Before the swordsman could make an attack, Serrator got in front of him at this time "Stop! I go away only for a short time to find the red ranger has broken my control on the princess how disappointing…Now gentlemen…A battle of egos? No, no I have bigger plans for you. Let's make this a clash of titans!"

Thus the two disappeared along with Dayu only to have two spitfangs and a papyrox to take their place. Ji and the other rangers joined Jayden at this time, the samurai mentor quickly took Nariko out of the red ranger's arms "Don't worry Jayden I'll take Nariko to a safe place while you and the other rangers take care of those three!"

"Thanks Ji!"

Later after the rangers took care of the spitfangs and papyrox, the group made their way back to the dock where Nariko and Ji were currently waiting at. As they walked down the dock Mia looked to her leader, "Deker was wrong about you Jayden…You were born to be our leader, to be a part of us." "Thanks Mia…" he watched as the pink ranger walk ahead of him to soon mutter "If they only knew."

As he continued to walk down the dock, Jayden's eyes soon landed on Nariko's form. A smile broke out on his face as he saw her awake and back to her old self, "Nariko!"

She immediately looked at the call of her name and smiled once seeing it was her fiance, the princess then left Ji's side and ran towards her red ranger. Jayden held out his arms open for his princess to which she ran straight into and in turn he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"Oh god…I'm so glad you're all right!" said Jayden

"Thank you so much for saving me Jay…" she then broke the hug and averted her gaze to the ground, "Jayden…I want to apologize for my actions towards you and the others…"

"Nariko you don't have to apologize, you were under Serrator's control, no one here is blaming you for what you did."

"But I was aware of what was going on! I tried to fight it but necklace's powers were too much…Until your voice reached out to me, Jay…Without you I wouldn't have the strength I needed to continue fighting against Serrator's magic and help you set me free…"

"Nariko…"

"I also wanted to say that I'm sorry for not telling you and the other rangers that I was the hooded figure that helped you guys…"

"Was that what you wanted to tell me the other day?"

"Yes…But I got scared…"

"Why?"

"I was afraid that if I told you then you would be really angry with me for keeping this secret for so long."

"I could never be angry at you, being upset with you yes but…Nothing could ever make me angry at you…I love you Nariko…"

"I love you too Jayden…"

The red ranger then lifted the princess' chin up and lean down, capturing her lips in a kiss. Nariko smiled and eagerly returned it, wrapping her arms around Jayden's neck. He took this time to wrap his arms around his fiancé's waist and pulled her closer, starting to make the kiss more passionate.

The other rangers and Ji couldn't help but watch the couple with smile on their faces. "Nariko and Jayden are just so perfect together, don't you think?" asked Emily

Mia nodded in agreement, "They sure are."

"Come on you two lovebirds! You better hurry or we'll you two here on the island!" teased Antonio

He soon winced in pain as Mia and Emily hit him in the shoulders, "Antonio!"

The couple broke their kiss and playfully glared at their golden friend, noticing their look Antonio nervously laughed and began backing away, "Ha, ha! I was just kidding you know! You can go back to your kissing now, don't mind me!"

Kevin sighed and grabbed the gold ranger's shoulder, "I suggest you run Antonio."

"You think so?"

The two look to find Jayden and Nariko quickly walking towards them, Kevin patted his fellow ranger's shoulder, "Yeah I believe so."

The blue ranger then took a step back as Antonio scurried off with Jayden and Nariko chasing after him. Kevin along with Mike, Emily, Mia and Ji began to laugh as they watched the couple catch Antonio and dunk him in the ocean waters, getting wet also.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Today at the Shiba household Jayden was out in the front yard training with the wooden practice sword along with the other rangers. He couldn't help but grip the sword a bit tight as he thought back to what Deker said on the island.

"Was Deker right about me?" Jayden thought to himself, he shook his head, "No I'll prove him wrong!"

The red ranger then focused as his team attacked him, he quickly blocked their attacks and soon pointed his sword right at Mike who immediately stopped in his tracks. The green ranger then took a step back as Jayden got into a stance.

The rangers' leader studied them for a moment before saying, "Come at me!"

While the rangers did what they were told and attacked at the same time once more, Ji and Nariko were watching this event unfold on the sidelines. The Yamada princess silently gasped and covered her mouth as she watched her fiance take down his team with so much anger.

The samurai mentor looked to her as she did this, "Nariko?"

"I-It's nothing Ji…I just…"

The two then looked back to the rangers as they heard Mike exclaim, "Dude it's only practice!"

"Sorry! Practice…Is over…" announced the red ranger

Emily quickly went over to the green ranger pulling him back from Jayden, "Mike come on! Let's go inside…"

At this time Antonio walked out of the household dressed in his training clothes, "Hey am I late?" he noticed the looks on his friends' face, "Did I miss something?"

Mia quickly went over to the gold ranger, "We were just heading inside…Join us?"

As she and the other rangers walked back inside the Shiba house Mike couldn't help but say, "Man…What was that about?"

Jayden looked over his shoulder and watched his team leave before making his way over to Nariko and Ji, "Mentor…I didn't mean to hit them so hard…What's wrong with me?"

Ji gestured toward his motorcycle, "Come on let's go for a ride."

Before the red ranger joined his mentor on the bike, he looked to his dear fiance "Nariko…"

The Yamada princess gently cupped her loved one's face, "You go on ahead with Ji, I'll meet up with the two of you soon…You two be careful while you're out."

"All right…"

Jayden leaned forward a bit, making Nariko grin a bit before leaning up and meeting her fiancé's lips in a kiss. The couple was like that for a few moments and soon broke apart when Ji cleared his throat.

The Yamada princess was the first to pull away, she gently pushed some of Jayden's hair to the side "I love you Jay…"

"I love you too Nariko…"

The couple shared one more kiss before Jayden joined Ji on his bike, Nariko stood off to the side and watch the two leave waving good bye to them.

30 minutes later near the shoreline, Ji stopped his bike at a huge tree and stood under it along with Jayden. The two were silent for quite some time until the samurai mentor broke it by asking his pupil, "Were you trying to prove something?"

Jayden sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't know…"

"It's Deker isn't it?"

"He says I've become weaker…Have I?"

"No…The team and Nariko have only made you stronger…"

"But I feel different! Like…Like I've lost my edge…I think that' s why I went a little crazy on the team today…It's not like how it was when it was just the three of us…Maybe Deker has a point…"

"And what's that?"

Jayden turned to his samurai mentor, "That I've lost my warrior's edge! I've relied too much on the team!"

Ji took a few steps closer to the red ranger, "No! It's because you're a strong team leader that you've been able to defeat the nighlok up to now!"

"But!"

"You bring honor to all the red rangers who have come before you…Never doubt that Jayden."

The two soon heard the cry of a horse; they turned to see Nariko riding upon a white stallion down the sandy shoreline. Jayden took in the sight of his fiance happily riding along the shore in her long, flowing white sun dress and couldn't help but smile a bit. The princess stopped a few feet away from the red ranger and samurai mentor, she smiled and waved at them.

Ji returned the gestured before gently patting his pupil's shoulder, "I'll leave you and Nariko alone now…I realized that the two of you haven't really spent much time together and I felt that this is the best time to leave you two be."

"Thanks Ji."

The samurai mentor nodded and returned to his motorcycle, as he drove off Jayden made his way over to his fiance. Nariko smiled a bit as her red ranger stopped by her side, "So…How did that talk with Ji went?" "It went all right…"

The red ranger helped the Yamada princess down from the horse before pulling her into an embrace. "Even though you had a talk with Ji, you still look like you have something on your mind." Said Nariko

Jayden sighed and rests his head against his loved one's head, "I…I feel different…What Deker said to back on the island…Maybe Deker has a point…I've lost my edge.."

The princess broke the embrace and gently cupped her fiancé's face, "No…You're wrong…You haven't lost your edge Jayden…"

"I almost lost you to Serrator, Nariko! When I saw you under his control…I thought I had failed trying to protect you…"

"But you found the strength to fight and set me free from Serrator's control…You didn't fail at all Jayden…" she takes her hands away from Jayden's face and grab his hand, "Come on…Let's go for a ride…It'll take your mind off of this…"

"All right…"

Jayden climbed onto the horse first, followed by Nariko who sat behind him. She wrapped her arms around the red ranger as he made the horse trot down the sandy shore. Minutes passed and the couple was happily laughing as they rode along the ocean shore, the red ranger soon stopped their steed and gazed to the sparkling ocean waters.

Nariko happily sighed and laid her head on her fiancé's back, enjoying the ocean breeze that gently blew her hair, "Peaceful isn't it Jayden?"

"Yeah…It feels really nice…"

The couple then became silent as they listened to the sound of ocean waves crashing on the shore. Jayden placed his hands over Nariko's giving them an affectionate squeeze, "I love you Nariko…"

The Yamada princess smiled at this and hugged the red ranger a little bit tighter, "I love you too Jayden…"

Suddenly a familiar beeping reached the couple's ears, Jayden immediately pulled out his samuraizer and answered the call, "Jayden here…I see…All right we're making our way back now…"

Nariko looked at her red ranger as he ended the call and put his samuraizer away, "Jayden?"

"That was Ji…He wants us to hurry back to the household…Another nighlok has appeared…"

"I see…"

"Hold on tight Nariko."

Once making sure she had a firm grip on him, Jayden snapped the horse's reigns. The steed gave a loud cry and quickly galloped off.

Back at the Shiba household, the other rangers had quickly gathered in the living room as the gap sensor went off. They surrounded the table and looked at the virtual map of the city, "There's a disturbance at the coast line but…" said Kevin, though he trailed off once spotting Jayden walk in with Nariko and Ji causing the other rangers to look at their leader.

"Sorry we're late." Said Nariko

"Jayden…We can handle this if you're not…" said Mia

Jayden shook his head, "I'm fine…And I'm sorry…I had a lot of things in my mind earlier…I was wrong to act the way I did…"

"Jayden, it's ok." Assured Emily

"I just want you to know how proud I am to fight alongside you."

Mike gave his leader a grin, "Dude…It's ok…But could you stop the proud stuff? You're starting to freak me out."

Everyone chuckled at this then Antonio raised his hand, catching the others' attention "Uh…Excuse me? Shouldn't we all be high tailing it out to the coastline?"

"Let's go." Said Jayden, he turned to Nariko and gave her a swift kiss before dashing out the household with the rangers.

At the coastline Serrator was roaming along the rocks, holding a locator in one hand and Dayu's harmonium in the other, "It must be here…If I follow these readings I'll locate the final spot that I need to complete my final plan."

He stopped once the locator started going off and nodded in approval, "Ah! Here it is!" he held up Dayu's instrument and studied it, "Now…Play your song of woe and create a crevice of misery so deep that I'll be able to slice this world in two!"

"Serrator!"

The devious nighlok turned and to his disgust found the rangers standing a few feet away from him, "Rangers!"

"What are you up to now?!" demanded Jayden

"Well, well, well…Welcome! As you can see I'm not doing anything. I'm as innocent as a dove!" said Serrator

"Yeah, right!" said Kevin

"Give us a break!" said Mike

"This time you're going down!" told Antonio

The rangers quickly morphed and charged at Serrator only to be stopped by a group of moogers suddenly showing up. While being distracted Serrator walked a few feet away from the rangers and was about to continue with his plan, Dayu showed up and angrily attacked the devious nighlok "Serrator!"

"Dayu!"

The devious nighlok quickly dodge her attack and landed two feet away, Dayu growled and turned towards him, "Serrator! What's your game?! You never intended to fix my harmonium did you?"

"To be honest all I really wanted was Deker and the powerful sad music this makes. You've been nothing but a pawn in my plan."

"You've deceived me for the last time! Liar!"

She charged towards Serrator with her dagger in hand, though before Dayu could lay a hand on him Serrator quickly held up her instrument making the female nighlok stop in her tracks "Ah, ah, ah! And it only took you two hundred years to figure that out."

"Put my harmonium down so I can take you down!"

While she was distracted Serrator took this chance to attack Dayu, she jumped back once receiving the hit and glared at the devious nighlok "Give it back you two bit con man!" She charged at him again, "It's mine!"

"Stop these futile attacks!"

To the rangers' surprise they watched as Serrator used his magic to attack Dayu, his attacks sent the female nighlok to the ground. She groaned painfully from the hits and tried to get up, Serrator scoffed at her attempt and began approaching her "Dayu…Your frustration tastes like the sweetest candy on my tongue."

"I can only hope that your wickedness will come back on you tenfold!"

Serrator stood over the weak Dayu and began to laugh evilly but stop when the sky became dark, lightening flashed and angry growls filled the air. The rangers ceased their fighting against the moogers and looked around, confused at what's going on.

Little did they know that in the netherworld, Master Xandred had received word from Octoroo about Serrator's treachery and became furious "Serrator has been deceiving me this whole time?! I'll go to Earth and destroy him!"

Octoroo immediately grabbed onto the nighlok king's arm, trying to prevent him from leaving "Master I know that you're angry with him but you can't go there! The moment you leave you'll dry out!"

Xandred abruptly turned to his minion and attacked him with his sword, "Shut up!" Octoroo immediately let go and fell back and Xandred began leaving the boat, "Serrator!"

Back at the Shiba household Nariko was with Ji drinking some tea, though as she took a sip from her cup the princess immediately sensed an intense dark aura causing her to drop her drink. The cup shattered as it came in contact with the wooden floor, Ji looked to her in worry "Nariko what's wrong?"

The Yamada princess quickly stood up from her seat and went over to the window. She opened it and looked out to see the dark sky filled with lightening along with the angry growls that sent shivers down her spine, "Oh no…"

Nariko quickly brushed pass Ji and ran to her room, in there the princess grabbed her sais and made her way to the front. Once again she pass by the samurai mentor who called after her, "Nariko! Where are you going?!"

"To Jayden and the others! They're in danger!"

"Wait, Nariko!"

The Yamada princess just ignored his calls and rushed outside, there she made her way over to her horse and got on "Come on boy, we need to hurry!" Nariko snapped the reigns, having the horse cry and quickly gallop off.

With the rangers they continued to look at the sky, all of them were very confused with what's happening. "What's wrong with the sky?" wondered Mike, "It's darkening like an eclipse…"

Suddenly they heard a chilling voice as pieces of rocks began to form a figure, "Days will become night as I escape the netherworld to face my enemies!"

"Xandred…" muttered Jayden

"What?! It can't be!" exclaimed Serrator

"It can be and it shall!"

The rock figure soon exploded and from within it revealed Master Xandred himself, the rangers couldn't help but stare at the nighlok in shock. "Jayden…Is that?" questioned Kevin

"Master Xandred." Told Jayden

"Red ranger…" growled Xandred

"Guess you're not as strong as you thought! You're already losing power!" said Antonio

"His spell is fading so his visit here will be short." Told Serrator

Cracks began to appear on the nighlok king's body causing him to cry out in pain and glare at the everyone, "I will destroy you all!" Xandred sent a powerful attack at the rangers and Serrator who were completely caught off guard.

"Serrator!" growled Xandred, he sent his dark powers towards the nighlok traitor trying to trap him, "It's your turn!"

"I will not be bound!" due to trying to avoid Xandred's power, Serrator dropped Dayu's harmonium, "I never thought you ventured into this realm!" he quickly made his escape from the nighlok king, "While you dry out I'll take my leave!"

"You will not escape me!" declared Xandred

Recovering from the nighlok king's attack, Jayden drew his spin sword and activated his power disk. The red ranger then charged at Xandred, though as his sword hit the nighlok it had no effect at all. Xandred grabbed Jayden's blade, "Ah yes…The red ranger…Pathetic head of the Shiba clan and the one who is keeping my Yamada princess away from me!"

Xandred slashed Jayden with his sword and broke the red ranger's spin sword in two, he then attacked Jayden once more sending back a few feet. This angered the other rangers who immediately attacked Xandred, though their combined attacks were easily deflected by the nighlok king who sent back a powerful attack of his own.

Kevin and the others collapsed to the ground in pain as they received Xandred's attack. Seeing that his team was down, Jayden got back on his feet. He then grabbed Emily's spin sword and pulled out the black box, going super samurai and prepared to use the bullzooka cannon.

"Red ranger…I owe your family some payback and you're the one who's going to pay!" told Xandred

The rangers pleaded to their leader not to use the weapon but he ignored them and said, "I have to try!"

He fired the weapon but the attack proved to have no effect since Xandred deflected the attack. Then both Jayden and Master Xandred battled it out for a few seconds only for the red ranger to be trapped by Xandred's dark powers. The nighlok king slashed Jayden two more times and as a result the red ranger collapsed and powered down.

Xandred scoffed at the sight, "Pathetic…"

"Stay away from him!"

The nighlok king turned around and to his surprise was attacked by Nariko. She quickly dodged Xandred as he tried to grab her and slashed at the nighlok with her sais. Lightning surrounded her weapons and the princess furiously swings her sais, sending two lightning spheres to Xandred. Nariko jumped back and landed in front of Jayden as the lightning hit Xandred, the nighlok king angrily growled "Argh! It seems my princess has some fighting spirit but now is not the time!"

The nighlok king turned away and went to fetch Dayu's harmonium, Nariko took this time to go to Jayden. The princess fell to her knees and gently pulled her fiancé's injured body to hers, "Oh my god…Jayden!" the other rangers quickly made their way over to the couple, "Nariko! How's Jayden?" asked Mike

"Not good...He's badly injured…"

To their dismay giant moogers appeared from the netherworld as Master Xandred made a deal with Dayu. Kevin turned to the Yamada princess, "It's not safe for you or Jayden to be here…Antonio, Mia, Mike and I will take care of the giant moogers. Emily will go with you and help bring Jayden back to the Shiba household."

"All right…Be careful Kevin…"

The blue ranger nodded and took the black box from Jayden who still held it in his hand. While he and the others went off to fight the giant moogers, Nariko looked to the yellow ranger "Come on Emily, we need to get Jayden back."

"You got it Nariko."

Later back at the Shiba household, Kevin and the others quickly finished off the giant moogers and helped Nariko and Emily bring Jayden back. Mike and Emily quickly opened the front doors letting Kevin and Antonio carry an injured Jayden in. Ji who had been anxiously waiting in the living room, stood up from his seat and dashed over to the rangers "Quick Kevin, Antonio bring Jayden to his room!"

The two followed the samurai mentor's orders and carried their leader to his room, with the others closely following. Once inside Kevin and Antonio gently laid Jayden on his bed then stepped back as Nariko immediately went to her fiancé's side.

Ji hurried in carrying a bowl of water, medicine and some bandages. He handed these things to the Yamada princess, "Here Nariko." "Thank you Ji…"

Quickly the Yamada heir went to work, tending to Jayden's injuries. The rangers couldn't help but be worried for their leader as they watched Nariko tend to him. A tear fell down the princess' cheek but she quickly wiped it away with back of her hand and continued tending to her fiance.

"Nariko…" called Ji

The princess sent him a look and went back to the red ranger's treatment, knowing that look of hers Ji turned to the others "Let's wait in the living room."

"What about Jayden?" asked Mike

"Nariko is treating him, so it's best we don't get in her way."

Ji then left the room though the rangers stayed behind for a bit, one by one they reluctantly left the red ranger's room. Kevin was the last to leave and quietly closed the door behind him, while Nariko rubbed medicine on Jayden's injuries she thought "Please be all right Jayden…I know you're strong but…I…I can't lose you…I just can't…"

The princess held back her tears as she continued with her work, time passed and it was soon nighttime. None of the rangers or Ji had left the living room as they continued to wait for Nariko to come out. The princess soon entered the room and immediately everyone snapped their attention to her, Kevin stood up from his seat "How's Jayden, Nariko?"

"He's going to be fine…But he's going to need a lot of rest…"

The rangers sighed in relief at the news, Ji stood up from his seat "I believe it's getting to that time where we should be having dinner…I'll go fix us something."

Later that night Nariko had remained in Jayden's room after eating her dinner with the others. Currently she was gently wiping her fiancé's face with a wet cloth when Ji entered the room, "Nariko? It's getting late…You should head onto bed…"

"I'm fine with staying here Ji…Besides someone needs to watch Jayden and make sure he's all right…"

"Nariko…"

"I'm not leaving his side Ji."

The samurai mentor gently placed his hand on the princess' shoulder, "I understand…But do get some rest…"

"I will…"

Ji slowly left the room but stopped at the doorway and looked back at the engaged couple, he smiled a bit and gave a small sigh then departed. Once the door quietly closed behind Ji, Nariko placed the wet cloth back in the bowl and gently held Jayden's hand from there she watched over her red ranger and remained at his side throughout the night.

Two days have passed since the incident with Master Xandred, it was morning at the Shiba household when Jayden finally woke up from his deep slumber. He looked at his surroundings in confusion, "I'm in my room?"

"Good to see you're finally awake."

Jayden looked to see Ji standing at his door carrying a tray in hand, "Ji…"

"Good morning to you too Jayden. I brought you and Nariko some breakfast."

"What?" the red ranger then felt someone holding his hand and looked down to find the Yamada princess resting her head on his bed, "Nariko…Ji how long have I been out?"

Ji approached the couple and set the tray down on the table, "Two days…Nariko tended to your injuries and from there she hasn't left your side since…" the samurai mentor then left the room, "I'll leave you two now…It's good to see you're well Jayden…"

As Ji left the room Jayden gently pulled his hand out of his fiancé's grasp and lightly shook her shoulder, "Nariko…Nariko wake up…" the Yamada princess groaned and slowly awoke, once her gaze landed on Jayden she abruptly sat up "Jayden!"

"Hey…"

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm feel just fine, thanks to you."

Nariko sighed in relief, "Oh I'm so glad…" the princess then covered her face as she began to cry. Jayden immediately pulled his loved one into an embrace and gently petted her head, "Hey now…Come on don't cry…"

"I-I almost lost you to Xandred! I-I thought…"

"You're never going to lose me…Nor am I losing you…"

"Jayden…"

"That's a promise Nariko."

More tears fell from her eyes and Nariko buried her face in Jayden's chest as she continued to cry. Jayden held her tighter and gave gentle kisses to her forehead as he began rocking his princess back and forth trying to comfort her and ease her worry for him.


	35. Chapter 35

*Hey I am so sorry this chapter has taken me so long to publish, life has kept me quite busy and I promise I'll try and do my best to publish more chapters, so for now I hope you enjoy this chapter!*

Chapter 35

Days have passed and Jayden has recovered from his injuries much to the relief of Nariko, Ji and the rangers. Today at the Shiba household, the rangers were hard at work training in the front yard. Mike, Kevin, Emily and Mia had paired off with each other while Jayden trained by himself.

With Mike and Kevin the two were sparring with their swords though as Mike charged at his teammate, Kevin easily dodged his attack and thought aloud "Why would Master Xandred attack Serrator?" he blocked two of Mike's attack with his back turned, "Serrator must have gone rogue, attacking at odd places like that island but why?"

The blue ranger then knelt down just as Mike charged at him, he flew over Kevin and crashed into Nariko that happened to be passing by at the time. The two cried out in surprise as they crashed to the ground, Emily, Mia and Jayden stopped what they were doing and hurried over to them.

"Mike, Nariko are you ok?" asked Emily

The green ranger rubbed the back of his neck as the yellow ranger helped him up, "Yeah I'm fine…Sorry about that Nariko."

Jayden helped his fiance up and the Yamada princess gave Mike a small smile, "That's all right…"

Everyone then gathered around the blue ranger who placed some rocks before him. "What's up Kevin?" asked Mia

"Serrator has made a series of attacks on us…If he's fighting us and Master Xandred…He must be up to something big!"

And with that Kevin rushed into the household with the others following, in the living room the blue ranger sat at the table looking over the map just as the rangers and Nariko gathered around him.

"Check this out!" said Kevin, he began placing marks on the map "If we put a dot on the map for each recent nighlok attack like I did with those stones outside this is what we get."

Mike nodded at this, "Oh I see it!" he then leaned over to Emily and asked her, "Now what am I seeing again?" all the yellow ranger did was shook her head, not knowing what Kevin was doing.

"Let him finish Mike." Said Jayden

"Well…Serrator doesn't seem like the type of nighlok to just attack randomly…I'm thinking that there must be a pattern…I mean why else would Master Xandred and Dayu attack Serrator? He really got out of there fast…Look if we place a mark where Serrator has appeared or sent a nighlok himself…"

"They form a line." Finished Mia

"Yeah…But this isn't a coincidence, Serrator is up to something!"

"And knowing him…It's probably something really bad…" said Nariko

Jayden wrapped his arm around his fiance, holding her close "Don't worry…Whatever he's planning we'll stop it."

Minutes later Nariko had retreated to her room and began looking over some family scrolls. As she sat upon her bed, reading over the scrolls a knock was heard upon the door. Not once taking her eyes off the scroll in her hands, Nariko said "Come in."

The bedroom door opened to reveal Ji who strolled over to the Yamada princess, "Nariko." She looked up from the scroll to find the samurai mentor stopping by her bedside, "Oh Ji…Is there something that you need?"

From behind his back Ji pulled out an envelope and handed the item to Nariko, "This came for you."

The princess took the envelope and immediately she froze once setting eyes on the symbol that is stamped on the front, "It's…It's the Yamada Clan symbol…" Nariko opened the envelope, retrieved the letter inside and began reading its contents.

Once she finished reading, the princess slowly put the letter down. Ji immediately notice the look on her face and asked, "Nariko are you all right?" "Yes…I'm all right…It's just that the letter…"

"It's from him isn't it?"

"Yes it's definitely him…He says the time is getting close…"

"I see…Nariko…"

The Yamada princess got up from her bed, "I need some air…" she brushed pass Ji who couldn't help but watch after her in concern, "Oh Nariko…"

30 minutes later in the kitchen with the rangers and Ji, the samurai mentor was prepping some snacks for the group when Jayden happened to notice his fiance is missing. The red ranger looked to his mentor, "Hey Ji…Where's Nariko?"

Ji who had been cutting up some fruit at the time, stopped and looked at Jayden "She's out in the garden…She's been there for a while now ever since receiving that letter…"

Once mentioning the letter, Jayden got closer to the samurai mentor and lowly whispered to him, "Was the letter from him?" "Yes…It was from him…Could you go and talk to Nariko, Jayden?"

"I was about to go do that." Jayden lightly patted his mentor on the shoulder, "Thanks for telling me Ji."

Thus Jayden quickly left out of the kitchen with the other rangers staring after him in confusion. Mike then looked to their samurai mentor, "What was that all about Ji? I never have seen Jayden leave the room so quickly."

"Let's just say something has come up that has somewhat upset Nariko."

"Anything we can do to help her?" asked Mia

Ji shook his head, "No…I believe Jayden has got that covered…"

Meanwhile outside the Shiba house, Jayden had just arrived at the garden to see Nariko sitting on the stone garden bench fiddling with her necklace. He approached the princess from behind and wrapped his arms around her, "Something wrong, love?"

"I know Ji told you about the letter I received today…Which is why you're out here."

"That and I wanted to make sure that you're all right."

"I'm fine it's just that…I wasn't expecting a letter from him…"

"I thought you would at least be happy finally receiving a letter from him…And yet I find you here upset…"

Nariko stood up from the bench, causing Jayden to let go of her. He watched the princess approach the pond with her arms crossed over her chest. The red ranger walked over to his fiance and stood behind her, "Don't even think about trying to avoid this…It's clear that you are upset about receiving his letter."

Nariko huffed, "Well I wasn't expecting to receive a letter from him at all! Not after what happened that night…"

"And after all this time you still hold resentment towards him…"

"What he said to me that night hurt me Jayden, you should know that!…After all he's-"

The red ranger turned the Yamada princess around and pulled her into an embrace, "I know Nariko…I know…But you need to calm down…"

Nariko heavily sighed and wrapped her arms around Jayden, burying her head in his chest. The red ranger kissed the top of her head and began to rub his fiancé's back in comfort. The couple remained like that for a few seconds when the gap sensor went off. Nariko looked up at Jayden who laid his forehead against hers, "We'll continue this when I get back all right?"

"Ok…"

Thus the couple quickly ran into the household and entered the living room to find Ji and the others looking at the map. "Serrator is attacking a spot right in line with the others. The longer the line gets it's like he's cutting the Earth in two!" said Emily

"Wait! Could he really split the Earth like that?" questioned Mike

"Maybe that's his plan." Said Kevin

"All that is going to be cut is his plan, let's roll." Said Jayden

Ji pulled out his cell phone, "I'll call Antonio and tell him to meet you there."

Before leaving the red ranger turned to his fiance, "Nariko…"

She gave him a small smile, "I'll be fine Jayden, now go and take care of Serrator."

Jayden nodded and gave a quick kiss to Nariko then left out of the household with his team following.

Later in the living room Nariko was sitting at the table gazing at the map. She studied the points of Serrator's attacks and muttered to herself, "Where have I seen this before?" the princess stood up from her seat and walked over to the bookshelf. She pushed some books to the side and found a scroll, Nariko grabbed the scroll and unrolled it. While reading through its contents the princess tightly gripped the scroll, "Oh no…"

She dropped the scroll and quickly began making her leave from the household, Ji stepped into the hall at this time and immediately spotted the princess leaving "Nariko? Nariko where are you going? Nariko!"

Meanwhile in the city the rangers had been fighting the nighlok named Pestilox when Serrator showed up to stop the samurai rangers. Serrator then ordered Pestilox to continue with his plan while he distracted the rangers, but as the nighlok began making his escape to fulfill Serrator's order Mike, Kevin and Antonio quickly engaged Serrator in a fight. Thus this gave Jayden, Mia and Emily the chance to chase after Serrator's nighlok minion.

As Kevin, Mike and Antonio were fighting with Serrator, the devious nighlok overpowered the three rangers. They groaned in pain from Serrator's powerful attacks and before Serrator could finish the trio off, Nariko appeared and attacked the nighlok with her sais. Serrator quickly took a few steps back, clutching his chest in pain while Nariko stood in front of the guys.

"N-Nariko…What are you doing here?" said Kevin

"I'd figured you could use a little bit of help, we can't let Serrator put that final wedge into the Earth. If he splits the world in two it'll be catastrophic with the Sanzu River flooding the Earth, no one would stand a chance. "

"Well it's a good thing you're here then, with you here to help we'll be able to stop Serrator." Said Mike

As the three rangers began to stand back up, Serrator was about to attack the group again when he suddenly felt a familiar presence behind him "Well, well…Deker…How unexpected…" Serrator turned around and faced Deker, "What a pleasant surprise."

Deker positioned his substitute sword at Serrator, "Spare me…You know why I have come here."

"You've come for your real sword: Uramasa. Good timing, my plan is reaching its climax. That glow coming from those humans is their misery creating a wedge in the Earth and surprise!"

Serrator quickly steps away from Deker, "It's the final wedge I need all of my attacks in this world were designed to create a line of human misery. I used Xandred's monsters to orchestrate a symphony of human suffering to serve my brilliant objective and now each of the wedges I've created are ready to be activated. Accept your fate we're at the end of my perfect plan and the end of the world as you know it. Welcome to the start of my reign! And once this wedge is in place, the whole world will be bursting at the seams, ready to be split open with one mighty stroke."

Serrator opened out his arms and began slowly spinning in one spot, "And flood the entire Earth with the Sanzu River, not with a trickle like Master Xandred had planned but with a terrorizing torrent that has never been seen! The Earth will be entirely submerged in the red waters of evil and I will finally become the ruler of both our worlds!"

Nariko tightly gripped her sais and charged at the devious nighlok, "Not if I can help it!"

Though before she could land a hit on the grinning nighlok, Serrator quickly stepped out of the way and kicked the Yamada princess hard in the stomach. She flew back a few feet and tumbled to the ground stopping right in front of Antonio, Mike and Kevin.

The guys quickly surrounded her, "Nariko!" Kevin gently gripped her shoulders, "Nariko are you all right?!"

The princess placed her hand on her stomach and winced in pain, "Y-Yeah…I'm all right…"

"Oh don't bother." Told Serrator, he gestured to the group of civilians who were being affected by Pestilox's bugs, "See? Their misery is sinking into the Earth, now the last wedge is finally in place."

Serrator remained in his spot as Deker placed his substitute sword at the nighlok's throat, "Enough talk…Give me what you promised, give me my sword Uramasa!" "Why of course! But first to complete our deal, you owe me one final favor."

"Favor?"

"Just a little favor…The one to crack open the world is someone who feels the pain of both the human and netherworlds but belongs to neither…That's you Deker."

Though before anything could happen, the group heard a loud noise and looked to find Pestilox being destroyed by the Samurai Megazord. "All right Jayden, Emily and Mia did it!" exclaimed Mike

Serrator scoffed at this and turned back to the half human nighlok, "Pestilox's defeat won't save them, the final wedge is set!" at that moment the ground began to shake a bit, "Look its power is surging! Now is the time for you to finish this with a final strike from your one true sword!"

From within the confines of his sleeves, Serrator pulls out the sword the half human nighlok had wanted to wield again, "Deker time to play your part! Uramasa, your sword as promised…Live up to the deal, take it Deker! With it you shall shatter the world!"

At that moment Jayden, Mia and Emily arrived on the scene, Deker glanced at the rangers and looked straight at Serrator "No…All I want is my sword Uramasa." Though before he could grab his sword, Serrator quickly jumped away from Deker "Of course you do! I planned for this and made sure that your centuries of misery and rage were locked up inside of Uramasa!"

"What?"

"Yes…The only way to release yourself from all that pain is for you to quickly take your sword and strike before this wedge explodes. Trust me with one quick slash, your curse will finally be broken and you will truly be free."

"Free…Free at last…"

At that moment the ground began to brightly glow beneath their feet, Nariko grunted in pain as Antonio and Mike helped her to stand, "The energy is surging…The ground is weakening along the line…"

From across they heard Jayden loudly exclaim, "Get down!"

Though they were too late, a huge energy blast emitted from the ground making the rangers and Nariko fly back. As they landed on the ground hard, Serrator hovered above them delighted to find that his plan had started "This is just a taste of the awesome power to be unleashed! See? The Earth cries out ready to be carved into two, and you Deker are the only one who can make it happen. I shall locate the weakest spot between our two worlds for you to make your final strike. I know that in the end you will do my bidding. Rangers! Your world is crumbling before your own eyes there's nothing you can do to stop me now!"

Jayden harshly glared up at the devious nighlok before turning his attention to his unconscious fiance, lying a few feet away. He winced in pain and reached out towards the princess, "N…Nariko…" and just like that the red ranger blacked out along with the other rangers.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Minutes ticked by after the energy surge emitted from the wedge and knocked out the rangers and Nariko. Out of the group Antonio is the first to regain consciousness; the gold ranger groaned in pain and looked at the wreckage around him. He soon spotted his barracuda blade a foot away from him and went to pick him up.

Just as Antonio picked up his weapon, much to his surprise he found an unconscious Deker lying a few feet away from him "Deker…" the gold ranger then slowly crept towards the cursed swordsman and thought to himself, "Deker is the key to Serrator's plan…This is my chance to stop him…"

Once Antonio was close enough to Deker, he slowly pulled out his blade from its sheath. And yet as he stood over the cursed swordsman with his weapon ready in hand, the gold ranger couldn't bring himself to harm Deker.

Tried as he might, Antonio refused to bring his blade down upon his enemy "I…I can't do…Not when Deker is like this…" and just like that the gold ranger placed his blade back in its sheath, leaving the half human nighlok to check up on his friends.

The first person the fisherman found was his childhood friend, Antonio stood by the red ranger's side and began shaking his shoulders "Jayden! Jayden! Jayden wake up, man! Can you hear me?"

The ranger leader gave a low groan and slowly opened his eyes, "An…Antonio?" "Yeah it's me Jay…You all right?" Jayden carefully lifted himself up and sat back on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck "Yeah…I think so…"

At that moment a thought struck the red ranger, sending him into a panic mode "Nariko!" he quickly got on his feet and looked around "Nariko!" Antonio began looking around too and soon spotted the princess a few feet away, he grabbed the red ranger's shoulder and pointed "Look Jayden there she is!"

The ranger leader quickly made his way through the wreckage with Antonio closely following behind. They soon reached the unconscious Yamada princess and Jayden immediately began to push some pieces of rubble off of her.

He looked back at his fisherman friend, "Antonio I want you to check on the others, I've got this handled." "You sure Jay?" "Yes I'm sure." "Ok."

As the gold ranger left to check on the rest of his teammates, Jayden managed to push all the rubble off his fiance. He gently pulled her close to him and began to shake her, "Nariko! Nariko wake up! Come on open your eyes for me, love!"

And much to his relief, the Yamada princess gave a soft groan and opened her eyes "Ja…Jayden?" the red ranger smiled and cupped her cheek, "Yeah it's me…Are you all right?"

"I…I think so…" just then Nariko shut her eyes in pain as she placed her hand on her stomach and tightly clench her clothing. This immediately wiped the smile off of Jayden's face and he gazed at her in concern, "Nariko…You're hurt…"

"I…I'm fine Jayden…"

"No you're not! It's no use trying to hide it from me, we need to get you back to the household."

With that being said the red ranger picked up the Yamada princess just as Antonio returned with the other rangers. Jayden observed his team before asking them, "Are you guys all right?"

"Yeah we're fine." Told Kevin

Mia then noticed the princess' condition and asked, "Nariko are you ok?"

"S…Somewhat…" she then winced in pain again, causing Jayden to tighten his hold on her "Come on you guys we need to return to the household and inform Ji on what has happened."

It took no time at all for the group to return to the Shiba household, upon entering through the gate they found the samurai mentor already waiting for them on the front steps. Ji immediately became concerned once spotting the Yamada princess in her fiancé's arms, he hurried his way over to the couple "Jayden! What happened?"

"From what Mike, Antonio and Kevin told me on the way here, Nariko tried to stop Serrator but he ended up kicking her in the gut hard. Her injury got worse when we were sent back by the energy surge from the wedge."

"I see…All right bring her inside and I'll tend to her injury."

The red ranger immediately did what he was told and once inside the household with the others, Jayden gently set Nariko down on the living room seat. Ji soon kneeled in front of her after retrieving some medicinal ointment and a roll of bandages, "Ok Nariko let me see."

She let out a sigh and slowly rolled up her shirt to reveal a huge bruise on her stomach, the sight of her injury immediately put a frown upon Jayden's face. Ji observed the bruise for a bit and lightly touched it causing Nariko to wince in pain.

The samurai mentor then began to dab the medicinal ointment on the princess' bruise, "Well…It doesn't look like Serrator gave you any serious damage except for the nasty bruise on your stomach, Nariko….How are you feeling?"

"All right…Though it kind of hurts to breathe and move."

"Well you won't be able to move around much until this bruising fades away."

"Of course…"

Once Ji had wrapped Nariko's stomach up with the roll of bandage, they turn their attention on Antonio who is currently telling his team what happened when he first woke up, "After the blast…I found Deker…He was laying there defenseless…And…I couldn't bring myself to attack him…"

"Wow…" said Emily

"I know…I blew it!"

Jayden shook his head at this, "No…Samurai never attack defenseless opponents."

"Still…"

"Dude…You made the right choice." Said Mike, he patted his friend's shoulder "Even I know that."

"Antonio…There's no need for you to beat yourself up over this." Said Mia

"I still should've done something!" told the gold ranger who then ran out of the Shiba household

Time passed since Antonio had left the Shiba household, currently in the living room Kevin was sitting upon the chair putting on his shoes while cautiously looking around. Once making sure no one was around he resumed putting on his shoes, though Mike showed up at this time and quietly approached the blue ranger.

Once standing by his side Mike loudly questioned Kevin, "Going somewhere?!"

The blue ranger cried out in surprise and fell off the seat, Kevin then sighed in relief "Oh Mike…You surprised me…" the green ranger held out his hand and helped his teammate up who then patted his shoulder, "Oh Mike…"

Though before Mike could reply to Kevin, he immediately noticed an object right behind his friend "The light zord?" the blue ranger turned around to find that Mike is right, "What's that doing there?"

Kevin rushed over to the light zord and grabbed the note that's on top of it, he began reading the note aloud "Dear guys…I'm sorry for letting you down…I now know what I have to do…Signed Antonio…"

"You don't he…" started Mike

"Went after Deker himself?! We've got to find him!"

Though before the two rangers could go after their friend, the gap sensor went off causing Ji, Jayden, Mia and Emily to rush into the room. The samurai mentor pressed the samurai symbol on the table to reveal the virtual map of the city, he studied the blinking dot and looked at the rangers "It's a strong reading…Most likely Serrator…"

Jayden looked to his team, "Let's go this maybe our last chance to stop him."

Just before they could leave the room, Kevin immediately stopped them in their tracks "Wait! I think Antonio went after Deker alone."

"Oh no!" said Mia

"Kevin take Mike and go find him!" told Jayden "Mia, Emily and I will take on Serrator."

The red ranger then turned to the samurai mentor, "Ji…" "Go Jayden, I'll look after Nariko." Jayden nodded and quickly left the household with Emily and Mia following after while Kevin and Mike left to find Antonio.

Meanwhile with the devious Serrator, he was walking through a field when he came upon a pile of boulders with smoke leaking from its cracks. The nighlok approached the formation with Deker's sword in hand, "Ah…This is the spot…The gap to the netherworld is weakest here…Once our half human, half nighlok friend: Deker slashes this open this world will finally give way to the netherworld."

Serrator held the sword up and gazed at the blade, "It's time for Deker to claim his prize."

With that said half human nighlok, he was calmly strolling through the forest area when he felt the presence of his sword reaching out to him. "My sword Uramasa is calling me…" thought Deker, he then stopped in his track once noticing Antonio standing a few feet away from him with his barracuda blade in hand.

Deker took a few steps towards Antonio and stopped, "Well…If it isn't the fisherman…"

"So…Are you on your way to help Serrator rip open the Earth?"

"If you're worried about that then why didn't you stop me when you had the chance?"

Antonio stared at him in surprise, "What?" Deker simply just smirked at the gold ranger who then got into a fighting stance, "It doesn't matter…I'm here to stop you."

Back at the Shiba household, Nariko was in her room resting in bed though she couldn't help but look at the Yamada clan letter that was sent to her earlier. While doing so, she failed to notice Ji enter her room carrying a tray of food and drink. The samurai mentor noticed the letter in the princess' hand and said, "Couldn't help but look at the letter again?"

Nariko looked at the ranger's mentor in surprise, "Ji…" she then sighed and placed the letter back in the envelope just as Ji placed the tray on the table and knelt by her side, "Nariko…Does it really bother you that he actually sent a letter to you?"

"Yes…Ji you know how much I admired him…And yet…That night…"

"Nariko…"

"Look Ji can we stop talking about this?"

"Of course…"

"Where are Jayden and the others?"

"Jayden, Mia and Emily left to handle Serrator while Kevin and Mike went to look for Antonio."

"Why are Kevin and Mike looking for Antonio?"

"Apparently Antonio went after Deker."

"By himself?! He can't beat Deker by himself…And Serrator…Jayden!"

Nariko sat up in bed only to wince in pain from the bruising on her stomach, Ji gently pushed the princess' shoulders and had her lay back down "No you need to rest Nariko." But Ji…"

"Jayden and the others will be fine…You need to rest."

Nariko sighed in frustration and remained in bed, though she couldn't help but thought in worry "Jayden…I really hope you and the others are all right…"

Meanwhile with the devious nighlok, he started to grow impatient as he waited for Deker's arrival "Ugh…Deker what is taking you so long?!" "Serrator!"

The nighlok turned and much to his distaste found Jayden, Mia and Emily running towards him, "Rangers!" the three rangers stopped a few feet away from Serrator. "Hand over the sword!" demanded Jayden

"I didn't forge this sword for it to be wielded by you!"

Jayden, Mia and Emily quickly dodged the attacks that Serrator sent towards them and morphed into their ranger forms. "Moogers! Keep these pests away!" ordered Serrator, immediately the nighlok's minions appeared and charged at the trio.

While Jayden and the girls were dealing with Serrator, Mike and Kevin were still searching for Antonio in the woods. The two rangers stopped in their tracks and looked around, "Where could he be?" wondered Kevin and as they continued their search, with Antonio he was getting ready to fight Deker.

The half human nighlok simply stared down the fisherman, "Go ahead…Attack me I'm unarmed…" Antonio continued to stare at Deker before sheathing his blade and falling to his knees. The cursed swordsman calmly walked past the ranger, "I didn't think so."

"I'm begging you please!" said Antonio

Deker stopped in his tracks as the gold ranger continued, "Forget about your sword Uramasa and walk away! I know you want to lift your curse but if you do what Serrator asks…Millions of people will suffer a horrible fate…"

"I knew it…You're no samurai…You haven't the guts to stop me!"

Thus Deker quickly turned around and drew his temporary sword to attack Antonio who began to turn around. At that moment Deker's attack was stopped by Kevin and Mike's spin swords, the two rangers and cursed swordsman fought it out for a few seconds before abruptly stopping.

Deker glared at the rangers, "This is a waste of time…You're not worthy opponents!" he then charged at Kevin and Mike who charged back. Though they were completely caught off guard by Deker jumping over them and resuming his trek towards Serrator's location.

Mike quickly turned around and yelled to Deker, "You're wrong Deker! Honor and compassion aren't Antonio's weaknesses! His heart is his greatest strength!"

The green ranger then knelt by Antonio's side along with Kevin, the gold ranger sighed in sadness "I was a fool to think Deker could be reasoned with…"

"No! You were really brave! You're someone who belongs on this team…You know what we stand for." Told Kevin

The gold ranger seemed to brighten up by this and looked at the blue ranger with a smile upon his face, "Let's go stop Serrator once and for all!"

Back with Jayden and the girls, they were fighting with Serrator after getting rid of the annoying moogers. Mia and Emily immediately went to their leader's side as he was hit by Serrator's claw, "Jayden!" suddenly they all noticed someone approaching the battle and much to their surprise they saw that it's Deker.

"What Deker?" said Jayden

Serrator turned to the cursed swordsman, delighted to see that he was finally here "Finally Deker! I knew you'd come…" Serrator held up Deker's sword, "Here take your sword Uramasa."

"Don't do it!" exclaimed Jayden

Serrator abruptly turned around and attacked the rangers with his powers, "Stop meddling!" the attack hit the rangers dead on and sent them onto their backs. Serrator turned back to Deker, "At last…The reunion you have been waiting for…I return this sword to its rightful owner."

Deker took his sword from the devious nighlok and looked at the blade as it brightly shone in the sunlight, "It seems Uramasa is happy to be with you again." Said Serrator "Now it's time…Quickly! Slash through the barrier!"

Though as Deker stood in front of the boulders he just remained still, "Go on! Once you complete this task you will be free of your curse forever! Do it! Split this world open, you'll be free and I'll be ruler of both worlds!" said Serrator

At that moment Kevin, Mike and Antonio arrived in the ranger forms, rushing towards them. "No!" cried Antonio

"Stop!" yelled Mike

"Don't do it!" exclaimed Kevin

Serrator growled and used his powers on the guys, he trapped them and then sent them flying overhead. The trio soon landed in front of Jayden, Mia and Emily, the girls immediately checked on them while Jayden stood and aimed the bullzooka at Deker "Drop that sword!"

He fired the weapon though its attack was soon stopped by Serrator who growled, "Enough of these games! This is the end of the line, literally!" he sent the attack back at the rangers who were ultimately hit by the attack.

As the rangers lay on the ground groaning in pain, Serrator turned back to Deker as the boulders began glowing, "It's time, do it!" The rangers watched in horror as they saw Deker raise his sword up high.

Though much to their surprise the group witnessed Deker abruptly turned to Serrator and slashing him with his sword. The devious nighlok dropped to his knees in shock, "Why?! How could you betray me like this?!"

"You had what I wanted…Your mistake was thinking I shared the same hatred of humanity…I care only for the sword…You made me that way…Remember?"

"You're as heartless as any nighlok!"

"And so it ends here."

"No!"

Just as Deker placed his sword back in its sheath, the energy emitting from the wedges went away. "200 years of planning, ruined in an instant! Now you will feel my wrath!" exclaimed Serrator

The devious nighlok began to fire a series of massive attacks towards Jayden and the others, though before the attacks could hit them Nariko showed up just in team and wrote out a kanji with her brush, "Symbol power: Shield!"

A white glowing force field suddenly appeared and deflected most of Serrator's attacks, Jayden looked at his fiance in surprise "Nariko! What are you doing here?" "Checking to make sure you and the others were all right! And it's a good thing I came."

"Rangers!"

Jayden and the others looked to find Deker standing a few feet away from them, "I trust you'll finish this."

As Serrator's attacks let up, Nariko looked at the rangers "You guys might want to morph right now…It looks like he's not done yet…" Jayden kissed his princess' head, "Thanks for the save, love. Now get to safety we'll handle Serrator." "All right…Be careful Jayden."

Once the shield faded away the rangers summoned the five disc octo cannon while Jayden brought out the Bullzooka and as Serrator slowly walked towards the group, they immediately fired the cannon. The attacks hit Serrator dead on but the devious nighlok wasn't finished yet, he came back as a giant causing the rangers to form their megazord.

And with their teamwork along with the powers from their megazords, the rangers were finally able to defeat Serrator once and for all. As Serrator was destroyed Deker took his leave from the battle though he was then confronted by Dayu who had been secretly watching the whole thing from the start.

"Deker…I saw what you did back there…" said the female nighlok

The cursed swordsman simply walked pass her having Dayu turn around, "So have you finally turn your back on the nighlok once and for all?"

"We were never after the same thing…" answered Deker, "I will end my curse on my own terms and not at the cost of this world…" he stopped in his tracks, "I'm nothing like you nighlok…Then again…I have this strange feeling our fates are intertwined somehow…"

And with that being said Deker took his leave with Dayu sadly watching him, "Oh Deker…If only you knew the truth…"

Little did they know, Nariko had been watching Deker and Dayu from a far and thought to herself "Looks like this isn't the last we've seen Deker…Or Dayu…" thus the princess took her leave and went to find the rangers.

With the rangers they were walking down the path together , feeling very happy that they finally defeated Serrator. Though Antonio stopped in his tracks causing the others to walk ahead of him, Mia happened to notice this and stop also then walked towards the gold ranger, "Antonio are you ok?"

The others stopped too and approached their golden friend who gave them a smile, "I was just thinking about what Deker did…The choice he made…"

"You made a choice too." Said Jayden, "You stood up for what's right."

"And unlike the nighlok…We will never betray each other." Said the gold ranger

The others happily smiled at this and soon turned around once they heard a familiar voice call out, "Hey you guys!" standing a few feet away, the rangers spotted Nariko waving at them.

The group quickly made their way over to the Yamada princess who gave them a smile, "Congratulations you guys! You've finally beaten Serrator!"

"Thanks Nariko." Said Mike

Jayden then proceeded to gently hug his princess, "I thought you would be still at home resting." "Well I couldn't help but worry about you and the others."

The red ranger broke the embrace and looked at her, "And your injury?" "Still hurts but I can bear it…Just give it a few days and the bruising will go away then I'll be good as new."

"Nariko…About that letter…"

"Let's not talk about it right now Jay…Besides we should get back to the household and tell Ji what happened, he'll be delighted to hear of your victory."

Nariko then looked at the other rangers, "Once we get back home, I'll cook something special for you guys! All of you deserve it!"

Kevin then stuck out his hand and looked at the others, "Rangers together!" immediately they placed their hands over each other and loudly cheered, "Samurai forever!" and thus the group made their trek back home to their awaiting samurai mentor, all of them happy at the turn out of today's event.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Time passed since the defeat of Serrator and all was quite peaceful, currently at the Shiba household Jayden was practicing in the front yard with the help of Nariko. While the couple fought each other with the practice wooden swords, Mia happened to be watching them from the doorway.

The pink ranger couldn't help but smile as she observe the samurai couple train together, though attention was soon diverted to the front gate where Mia witnessed a monk handing an envelope to Ji. She immediately recognized the symbol stamped on the envelope and softly gasped, "The Shiba family crest…"

Mia hid behind the door and watched as Ji approached Jayden and Nariko; the couple ceased their sparring and turned to their mentor. Ji held out the envelope to Jayden who immediately took and opened it. The red ranger retrieved the letter from within the envelope and began reading its contents with Ji and Nariko by his side.

Seconds ticked by as the trio read over the letter, Ji simply nodded once he finished reading "We knew this day would come…" Jayden slowly put down the letter, "This changes everything…The other rangers will finally know my secret…I hope they'll forgive me…"

Nariko gently placed her hand on her fiancé's arm and laid her head against his shoulder, "Oh Jayden…" the red ranger wrapped his arm around his princess and kissed her forehead, "I know, love…I know…"

Meanwhile outside at a Japanese temple, Dayu and Octoroo had left the netherworld with a nighlok named Fiera in order to carry out a plan concerning the red ranger. Octoroo handed Fiera an artifact, "Your skills are exactly what we need for this job. All you have to do is target the red ranger. These are specially designed to take down the head of the Shiba clan."

Fiera observed the artifact in her hand, "Hmm…What are they?"

"Fiery flashers." Answered Octoroo, "Red symbol power is fire so we're going to fight fire with fire. These are filled with evil flames from the Sanzu River…Hehehe every time they strike it'll make the fire within the red ranger burn and destroy him from the inside out! Ooh ah ooh! The red ranger is through!"

Back at the Shiba household, the gap sensor went off having everyone rush into the living room. Jayden summoned the virtual map on the table and once seeing the location, he looked at his team "Nighlok attack at the park, let's go!"

The red ranger gave a quick peck to Nariko on the lips before rushing out of the household with the others following. Though Mia couldn't help but stay behind for a few seconds, Nariko noticed and stared at the pink ranger in wonder. Noticing the princess' look, Mia nodded at her friend and quickly followed after the others. Ji who had also witnessed this looked at the Yamada princess, the two stared at each other for a few seconds when Nariko walked pass the samurai mentor "I'm going to be in the kitchen if you need me Ji."

Meanwhile with the rangers they arrived at the park to find moogers terrorizing the civilians. They immediately drew their weapons and began attacking the nighloks, "Take them out!" told Jayden

And as the rangers began fighting off the moogers, little did they knew Fiera was watching them from atop the Japanese temple, "So that's the red ranger…The head of the fiery Shiba clan…Time to use these fiery flashers to light it up!"

While they continued to fight the annoying moogers Antonio said aloud, "These guys get uglier every time I see them!"

"Yo moogers have cornered the market on ugly, it's what they do best!" said Mike

"Stay focused, pick your targets!" told Jayden

Suddenly Fiera appeared and aimed her arm at the red ranger, "I've picked mine!" Jayden turned just as Fiera fired on him. The attack struck the red ranger in the chest and immediately he began to feel the effects of the fiery flashers. He cried out in pain and fell to his knee, "Ugh…It feels like my insides are burning up…"

Back at the Shiba household, Nariko was in the kitchen cutting up some fruit when she felt a painful jolt run down her spine. The princess gasped and ceased her cutting, "What…What was that I felt just now…" she then tightly clutches her necklace, "I really don't like this feeling I'm getting right now…Like something awful is happening…"

Nariko's head shot up once she realized what that feeling is, "Oh no…Jayden!" the princess darted out of the kitchen and made her way towards the front door. Ji who had remained in the living room abruptly stood up from his seat once spotting the princess quickly making her way towards the door, "Nariko! Where are you going?"

Nariko stopped and turned to the samurai mentor, "Ji I need to go help Jayden! I have this feeling that he's in trouble." "Nariko…" she turned to leave but immediately stopped in her tracks once noticing someone standing there.

The princess stared at the person in surprise, "It's…It's you…" Ji joined Nariko's side and also stared at the person, "Oh my goodness…You're…You're really here…"

Back at the battle Fiera was still targeting Jayden with the fiery flashers, Kevin immediately went to his leader's aid "Jayden!" the blue ranger got in front of his friend and took a hit from the fiery flasher. Kevin fell to his knee and put a hand to his chest, Jayden grabbed his teammate's shoulder "Careful those blasts are powerful!" "Huh? I feel ok…"

Jayden then charged at Fiera who quickly disappeared before the red ranger could land an attack on her. Kevin quickly joined his leader's side and began looking around for the nighlok, "That blast didn't affect me much." Jayden looked at him in surprise, "Really?"

"Yeah I'm barely scratched…" Kevin looked to his teammates, "I think we can block her shots, rangers!"

Mike, Emily, Mia and Antonio joined up with Kevin and immediately surrounded Jayden just as Fiera reappeared. The nighlok fired the fiery flashers which ultimately hit the whole group, once again Jayden cried out in pain from the effects of the fiery flashers.

"Jayden!" exclaimed Emily

"Why is that only happening to him?" wondered Mia

"I'll tell you why." Said Fiera, "The head of the Shiba family has massive fire symbol power. My fire flasher simply ignited the flames already inside him and you can't stop me! You can't even see me!"

Thus the nighlok disappeared before the rangers' eyes causing them to become highly alert. Mike looked around at his surroundings, "Where is she?"

"We must protect Jayden and the sealing power!" told Kevin

Immediately the rangers surrounded their leader who still remained on the ground, just then Fiera appeared then disappeared after firing a fire blast at each of the rangers "Now you see me! Now you don't!"

"You guys, stop taking hits for me!" told Jayden

"We have to protect you!" said Mike, "Besides her hits aren't that strong, we're a team Jayden!"

Emily nodded in agreement, "He's right! If they want you they'll have to go through us first!"

"Emily is right! We six are a team to the end!" said Antonio

"They're too loyal…" thought Jayden

"Ready to have a blast?" asked Fiera who once again fired upon the rangers

The group fell to the ground groaning in pain, causing Jayden to slowly stand "Please! You guys need to stop protecting me! I can handle this!" once fully standing the red ranger took a step towards the nighlok "You want me? Then fight me, not them!"

As Jayden went into super samurai mode, Fiera appeared and fired the fire flashers "Nice vest!" the red ranger once again got hit by the blast but it didn't stop him from running off in another direction having Fiera follow, "Running away won't help!"

"Come on! We can't let him do this alone!" told Kevin

As he and the other rangers ran after Jayden, Mike couldn't help but say "That's just who Jayden is…He'll do anything to protect us…"

With the red ranger, he stumbled through the park with the bullzooka in hand. As he stopped to rest, Fiera appeared right before him "Noble self-sacrifice? You humans are pitiful!"

The nighlok disappeared once again only to reappear behind Jayden, flying high above him "This will finish you!" as she fired another fire blast, the red ranger turned around and fired his weapon "Think again, say hello to my bullzooka!"

Though as Jayden fired the bullzooka, he got hit by the fire flasher in the process and flew back. Fiera who got hit by the red ranger's attack, fell to the ground clutching her chest "N-No! You're supposed to burn up, not me!" as the nighlok was destroyed, the other rangers arrived and rushed over to their leader.

Little did they know Dayu and Octoroo were watching the group from a far. "I can't believe the fire didn't consume him…" said Dayu, she looked to her companion "What happened?"

"If he's the head of the Shiba family, there should've been enough fire symbol power in him to destroy him…" Octoroo then gasps, "There's only one explanation!"

With the rangers, Kevin helped his leader slowly sit up "Jayden, you're going to be ok!" the red ranger wince in pain and handed his teammate the black box, "You gotta lead Kevin…" "You can count on me!"

"He's toast!"

The rangers looked to find Fiera reappearing in her giant form, "And the rest of you will be next!" Antonio gently dragged his childhood friend over to a statue and set him against it, "Just rest here buddy, we're coming back for you!"

As Kevin and the others left to fight Fiera, Jayden remained where he was though the red ranger couldn't help but notice two blurry figures walking towards him followed by a female voice, "Jayden…Don't worry we'll handle this."

With the rangers, their megazord had come apart due to Fiera's powerful attacks and speed. The nighlok continued her relentless attacks, but she was completely caught off guard by the lion zord suddenly attacking. Kevin and the others were also surprised too as they saw this, though they couldn't help but wonder just who is piloting the lion zord since Jayden still remained on the ground.

Back with the injured red ranger, he still remained lying against the stone statue just as the Yamada princess arrived, "Jayden!" She knelt by his side and gently cupped his cheek "Oh Jayden…"

"I'm all right Nariko…"

"No you're not you're badly injured!"

"Nariko…"

"Jayden, Nariko!"

The couple looked to find the rangers returning from the battle with the defeated Fiera. "Jayden are you ok?" asked Mia, the ranger leader nodded "I'm ok…"

"We need to get him back to the Shiba house so I can take care of his injuries." Told Nariko

The rangers nodded and immediately helped their leader up, though before they could make their journey back to the household, two mysterious figures arrived on the scene. They stopped in their tracks and looked to find a female red ranger standing there with a guy with short black hair by her side.

"What's going on here?" wondered Emily

The female red ranger powered down, revealing a girl with blonde hair to the others. Antonio studied the guy and girl before asking, "Who are you?"

There was a moment of silence before Jayden broke it by saying, "The blonde is my big sister…Lauren…" "And the guy is my older brother: Takashi…" told Nariko

The rangers stared at the couple in surprise, "What?! You two didn't tell us you had siblings!" said Mike

Lauren couldn't help but smile at the sight of her younger sibling, "Hi Jayden…" she then walked over to the group with Takashi following. Lauren stopped in front of her little brother and gently cupped his cheek, still smiling at him.

"Why didn't we know about you two?" asked Emily, "And…Where have you two been?"

"Why weren't you two with Jayden and Nariko?" questioned Mike, "And what about-"

Mia immediately cut in, "Whoa, whoa, whoa…Don't just throw a million questions at them…Why don't we start with this?" the pink ranger turned to Lauren and Takashi with a friendly smile upon her face, "Lauren, Takashi welcome to the samurai rangers."

"Thank you." Said Lauren

Takashi gave a small smile, "We've imagined this day for a long time…Lauren and I can't wait to get to know each one of you…And especially our young siblings." He then looked at Nariko only to have her immediately look away from him.

This wiped the small smile off of Takashi's face, "Nariko…"

"Now that we got introductions over and done with, we need to head back to the Shiba household so I can tend to Jayden's injuries." Told the Yamada princess

Everyone nodded at this and made their departure from the park, back at the Shiba household Kevin and Antonio brought Jayden into his room gently setting him down on his bed. The rangers then stepped aside as Nariko knelt by her fiance's side and began tending to his injuries.

Ji then ushered Kevin and the others to the living room leaving Takashi, Lauren, Nariko and Jayden alone. Once the rangers were comfortably sitting down, Ji proceeded to tell them the secret that was kept from them for so long.

"The nighlok never even knew Lauren or Takashi existed…It was all a part of their father's secret plan. You see in the last invasion, Master Xandred's forces were raging an intense battle they were overwhelming the samurai rangers. So their fathers put all their faith into their children, Lauren and Takashi were sent off and put into hiding. That way Lauren could fully master the sealing power with the aid of Takashi. Though while they were off practicing the sealing symbol, someone had to continue fighting off the nighlok…That's where Jayden and Nariko came in."

"But…Jayden and Nariko were young back then." Said Mia

Ji nodded, "Exactly…Jayden's father figured that he himself hadn't mastered the sealing power, but he was willing to try and Nariko's father was there to aid him…Jayden's father hoped that even with an imperfect seal would at least be strong enough to send Master Xandred to the bottom of the Sanzu River, long enough to allow his daughter to fully master the symbol herself and for his son to grow strong enough to protect the world until she did…To deceive the nighlok Jayden had to do one of the hardest things in the whole world…Hide it from his best friends."

"He must've felt like his whole life was a secret…" said Mike

"He's been carrying that around inside him all this time…" said Mia

"So…Does this mean Lauren is ready?" asked Emily

Ji studied his pupils and nodded, "Yes…She has finally mastered the sealing power…The only power capable of sealing Master Xandred away forever…This is the day that we've been waiting for…"

The next morning at the Shiba household after Nariko had brought Jayden his breakfast and some tea, she quietly sat on her fiancé's bed while he drank his tea. Noticing how quiet his princess is, the red ranger placed his cup down and gently grabbed her hand "Nariko…"

The Yamada princess snapped out of her little dazed and looked at her loved one, "Jayden?" "Are you all right?" "Yeah…I'm fine…Just thinking…" "It's about your brother isn't it?"

"Jay…"

"You should talk to him, Nariko…After all you haven't seen him since that night he and Lauren were sent away."

"Jay…I don't think…"

The couple looked to the door as they heard a knock upon it, there standing in the doorway were Lauren and Takashi. The older Shiba sibling gave the couple a small smile, "Hey…May we come in?" "Of course." Said Jayden

As they stepped in Takashi asked, "How are you feeling Jayden?" "Just fine…Thanks for asking Takashi."

Nariko then took the cup out of Jayden's hands and set it on the tray, "I'm going to go wash the dishes." As she picked up the tray and began heading for the door, Takashi took a step towards his young sibling "Here let me help you."

The Yamada princess simply brushes pass her older brother, "I've got it…But thanks for the offer…" Takashi sighed as he watched his sister leave before turning to Lauren and Jayden, "She hates me…"

"No…She doesn't hate you Takashi." Said Lauren

"Nariko is just still upset about what happened that night when you and Lauren were sent away." Told Jayden, "You and Nariko need to talk to each other."

"Both of you clearly saw what happened a few seconds ago…She doesn't even want to talk to me…" said Takashi

"You need to keep trying, Nariko will talk to you once she sees how much you want to talk to her." Said Jayden

Takashi sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well…If you say so…I mean after all you are her fiance and know my little sister better than me…I'll leave you and Lauren alone now…"

And with that being said the older Yamada sibling left the room, Takashi soon found Nariko in the kitchen washing dishes while the other rangers and Ji were eating their breakfast. Mia was the first to notice the older sibling and happily greeted him, "Good morning Takashi."

Immediately the others also greeted Takashi who smiled and nodded at them, "Good morning to you all…" he then looked to his young sister, "Nariko?" she stopped her washing and looked at him, "Yes?" "Can we talk?"

Nariko stared at her brother for a bit and once noticing the looks that the others were giving them, the princess sighed and quickly finished rinsing the dish that she's holding "Yeah…Just give me a second…"

The Yamada heir then placed the dish on the drying rack and wiped her hands, once her hands were dry she looked at her brother "Follow me." And the Yamada siblings left the kitchen with the rangers and Ji watching them.

Once they were outside Nariko led Takashi over to the pond and sat down on the stone bench, "All right…What did you want to talk about?" Takashi took a seat next to his sister, "I want to talk about what happened that night I was sent away with Lauren."

Nariko crossed her arms over her chest and looked the other way, "What's there to talk about?"

"You know there's a lot we need to talk about Nariko…"

The Yamada princess remained quiet but then she softly said, "What you said to me that night…About me becoming strong, you not wanting to look after a weak sister like me and if I didn't become strong I wouldn't be a true Yamada samurai…Your words really hurt me that night Takashi…"

Takashi sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "I know…And I want you to know I'm truly sorry for what I said to you…It was foolish of me to say those cruel words after all you were young and you didn't fully understand what was going on at that time…I guess me putting on a brave face for you broke that strong bond we had as brother and sister…But now that we're reunited I really want to repair that bond…That is…If you forgive me…"

There was a moment of silence between the two Yamada siblings before Nariko slowly turned to her brother and gave him a small smile, "I forgive you Takashi…" this brought a smile on the older sibling's face, he held out his arms to his sister who immediately embraced him "I've missed you big brother…" "I've missed you too Nariko…"

With the Shiba siblings as Lauren began wiping Jayden's forehead with a wet cloth she said, "I was so proud when Takashi and I saw you fight yesterday…You've grown into a true samurai…"

"You were the one who tore up the battlefield…You were amazing…"

Lauren smiled a bit and dipped the cloth into the bowl of water she had in her lap, "I thought of you often over the years…I imagine…Like me and Takashi…You and Nariko must've felt lonely not having us here by your side…"

"Yes…Luckily we had each other…Not only that we've learned to trust our friends…They've become like brothers and sisters to Nariko and me…"

"I hope I can become part of the family too…You…Me…Surrounded by friends and the people we love…"

"Lauren…You know we can't be together now…"

The female red ranger stopped wiping her brother's forehead and placed the cloth back in the bowl, "I had hoped that maybe there would be someway…"

"I always knew that this day would come…You are the red ranger…You must take your place as their leader…The only way for that to happen is for me to leave…"

"J-Jayden…" Lauren then turned away from her brother and wringing the water out of the cloth, trying to hold back her tears.

"The symbol power is the only way to save the world…It must be protected and that means protecting you at all costs…" told Jayden, "They're too loyal to me…" he gently grabbed his sister's hand, "If I stay…Dangerous mistakes could be made…I can't let that happen…"

Lauren who was still holding her tears back managed to ask, "Are you sure?"

Jayden softly sighed and answered, "There could only be one red ranger…"

At that moment Nariko and Takashi entered the room which caused the Shiba siblings to look at them, "Hey…We just came by to let you know Ji and the others are preparing a little welcome party for us, Lauren." Told Takashi

"Oh that's nice…"

"I can assume that the two of you have made amends?" asked Jayden

Nariko smiled at her fiance while hugging her brother's arm, "Yeah…We did…" though her smile soon faded once noticing the look on her ranger's face, "Jayden…What's wrong?"

"Nariko…We need to talk…"

20 minutes passed and during this time Lauren had left the room to join Ji and the other rangers outside while Takashi and Nariko remained inside with Jayden. The older Yamada sibling watched as his sister and her fiance began packing their things, "You know…You don't really have to leave Jayden…"

"It's best that I do Takashi…Besides Lauren is the true red ranger and…There could only be one."

Takashi sighed and looked at his little sister, "Nariko…" "Takashi…I haven't left Jayden's side since the beginning I'm not leaving him now…"

"But you're the head of the Yamada clan."

"Which should've been you…I mean you are the oldest after all…"

"But Father appointed you before he left for battle."

"Then it's best that I leave…It's better for Lauren and the others if I went into hiding…That way they don't have to worry about protecting me from Master Xandred, all they have to focus on is sealing Xandred away for good…"

"Nariko…We…We just got reunited after so long…"

"I know…And it really saddens me that we have part ways again…"

"Promise me…After this is all over we'll see each other again…"

"I promise…"

Takashi then strode forward and wrapped Nariko in a tight embrace; she returned it and bit her bottom lip as the princess held back her tears. The older Yamada sibling then broke the embrace and cupped his sister's face, "Hey…No crying now…I'll be outside with the others…" "Ok…"

Takashi gave Nariko one last hug before departing from the room, the Yamada princess then stood by Jayden's side who is looking at a wooden box containing his power disks and the black box.

Nariko gently gripped her loved one's arm and laid her head on his shoulder, "Jayden…" "I'm fine Nariko…It's time…"

Meanwhile outside the rangers were happily chatting and eating with Lauren and Takashi when Jayden and Nariko stepped out of the household. Everyone immediately focused their attention on the couple, Antonio smiled at his childhood friends "Hey…Well look who's up! Come on Jayden, Nariko it's your siblings homecoming party and we even got cake!"

"Come on!" urged Mia

Though the couple simply just stood there causing the rangers to become concern, "Jayden…Nariko…What's wrong?" asked Kevin

Lauren looked to Takashi who nodded at her, she then stood up and walked over to the samurai couple with Takashi following.

"What's the deal?" wondered Mike

He and the other rangers watched as Lauren stood in front of her brother, Jayden then brought out the wooden box and opened it revealing the power disks and black box. The rangers watched in shock as Jayden handed the box to Lauren.

Jayden then turned to his friends, "You all need to follow Lauren now…She's the new red ranger and your leader…I'm going away…And Nariko is coming along."

"What do you mean?" asked Emily

"You mean on a trip, right?" said Mike

"I mean permanently…" told Jayden

"What?!" exclaimed the team

Mia took a step forward towards her leader, "Jayden, you and Nariko can't go! You know how we all feel!"

"We know…But Lauren alone has the sealing power, she's able to do what I could never do…End this fight, bring peace…And Nariko feels that it's best if she went along with me so you don't have to worry about protecting her…Takashi will stay here in her place and will give you his aid…You all need to rally around her and Takashi." Told Jayden

"We need you both too!" said Antonio, he looked to the older siblings "Lauren, Takashi tell them."

Though Lauren and Takashi remained silent causing Antonio to urge them, "Well go on tell them!" and yet the two older siblings remained silent.

Just then Ji walked out of the household and stood in the doorway, Mike who had noticed his presence said to him, "Mentor what is this? Jayden and Nariko are leaving…H-How could you keep this from us?! Come on make them stay!"

"I'm sorry Mike…You can't stop them…No one can…"

Nariko turned to the samurai mentor, "Ji…You've been our guiding light…Thank you for everything…" Ji nodded then stood by Lauren and Takashi as the samurai couple turned to the rangers.

"Mike…Emily…Mia…Antonio…Kevin…It's been an honor to fight by your side." Told Jayden

Though as he and Nariko began walking away Kevin loudly exclaimed, "I'm going with you!" the couple stopped in their tracks and turned to the blue ranger, "Kevin…You're a samurai ranger…Jayden and I are counting on you to stay…And fight by my brother and Lauren's side." Told Nariko

Jayden placed his hand on Kevin's shoulder, "I know you'll make Lauren proud of you as you have me…" he then looked to the Yamada princess, "Come on Nariko…"

The Yamada heir nodded and grabbed her fiancé's hand, everyone couldn't help but watch in sadness as Jayden and Nariko departed from the Shiba household together, not once looking back at them.

Later that night at the household everyone had been completely silent ever since Jayden and Nariko left. The rangers had gathered in the living room with Lauren and Takashi, thinking about what happened earlier today.

"It was Jayden and Nariko who brought us together…Somehow fighting next to them made me a stronger warrior." Admitted Emily

"So what are we supposed to do?" questioned Mike, "Just forget about them like they never existed?!"

"Of course not." Told Takashi

"Mike, you remember what Jayden and Nariko said! We have a duty as samurai." Said Kevin

Antonio abruptly stood up from his seat, "Well…They're my best friends…And technically…I'm not a true samurai like all of you are…So I'm going after them!"

As the gold ranger stormed out of the household, Mike simply just shook his head "I'm sorry Lauren, Takashi…I'm sure you both are great samurai…But it's just not the same without Jayden and Nariko."

Lauren gently bit her bottom lip and looked to Takashi who placed his hand over hers, gently squeezing it. Slowly one by one, the rangers left the room leaving Lauren and Takashi alone who couldn't help but worry about their young siblings and silently wished that they hadn't leave.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The next morning Jayden and Nariko were at the pier, watching the sun slowly rise before them. The former red ranger gently held his fiancé's hand and softly said, "I wish I could stay…But I know that this is for the best…You could've stayed with them Nariko…"

"Like I said before Jayden…It's better that I went into hiding in order to have Lauren and the rangers focus on sealing Master Xandred away…Besides I've been by your side since the beginning and I'm not going to leave you now…"

Jayden sighed and wrapped an arm around his loved one, laying his head against hers "I just hope that the others can forgive me…"

At that moment Antonio was running along the pier searching for his best friends and much to his relief he spotted the couple a few feet away. The gold ranger ran up to his friends and stopped a foot away from them, "Jayden, Nariko! I've been looking everywhere for the two of you."

"You shouldn't have followed us." Said Jayden, "Lauren…The red ranger needs you."

"Listen…It doesn't make any difference to me that you're not the red ranger…You will always be my best friend." Told Antonio

Jayden smiled a bit at this, "Thanks…You know…For the first time in my life I don't know who I am…Everything I was…Is gone…"

"No you're wrong Jayden…" said Nariko, "You're still the guy I fell in love with and whether or not you're the red ranger…My feelings for you will never change…Never forget that…"

Jayden stared at his fiance in surprise but then he smiled a bit and kissed her head, "Nariko…Thank you I needed to hear that…"

"Hey…About a nice big breakfast, huh?" offered Antonio, "My treat. Things always seem better after a good meal."

Jayden's smile slowly fell from his face and gave a simple shake of his head, "I really want to be alone right now Antonio…"

The gold ranger simply shrugged his shoulders, "Fine be alone…But only after I return with some grub, be right back! It's just around the corner!" Nariko watched as Antonio ran off then looked back at her fiance, "Jayden…"

"It's time that we continued on Nariko…"

"Yes…You're right…"

Antonio soon returned to the pier after retrieving the food and much to his disappointment, he found Nariko and Jayden were gone. The gold ranger immediately set out to search for his two best friends again, 15 minutes pass when Antonio reached a local neighborhood still not able to find the samurai couple.

The fisherman then pulled out his cellphone and contacted Ji, "They took off again…I can't find them anywhere! We shouldn't have let Jayden and Nariko leave!"

"Maybe…But that's the way they wanted it." Told Ji

"Well I don't care! I'm going to keep looking for them!"

Meanwhile with Jayden and Nariko, the two held each other's hands as they walked through a forest. As they were walking, Jayden couldn't help but hold Nariko's hand a bit tighter, "Leaving the team was the toughest decision I've ever made…" "Jayden…" "What's my destiny now?"

Though before Nariko could answer his question, she immediately stopped in her tracks once spotting Deker standing a few feet away from them. Jayden stopped too and gently pushed his fiance behind him while staring down the cursed swordsman.

"So you're finally alone…Free from the burden of being expected to save the world…And you have your precious princess with you…I knew we had something in common from the moment I met you, hiding that secret made you twisted like me." Said Deker

"We have nothing in common!" told Jayden

"Maybe you don't think so…But I can see in your eyes, the same need to fight…The same need to prove yourself worthy…I was right to choose you as my ultimate opponent…We're both tormented by a fate we didn't choose…"

And just like that Deker slowly drew his sword Uramasa and aimed its blade at Jayden, Nariko tightly gripped her fiancé's jacket sleeve, "Jayden…Don't do this…" "Nariko I need for you to step back."

"Jayden please…You're still recovering!"

"Nariko I have to do this."

"But Jayden!"

The Yamada princess stopped her protesting once she noticed the look in her red ranger's eyes, she bit her bottom lip and reluctantly let go of her loved one's sleeve. Though as Nariko took a step back from her ranger she said, "Please…I'm begging you…Please be careful Jayden…"

"I promise Nariko…"

Jayden then pulled his knapsack off his shoulder and placed it on the ground, he stared down Deker and tightly clenched his fist "I know one thing…The world would be a better place without you Deker…Perhaps this is my destiny…"

He unraveled the bandage that's wrapped around his right hand then drew out his spin sword, "It's time to finish this once and for all!"

The two swordsmen charged at each other and clashed their swords together, as they pushed their swords against one another Deker questioned the red ranger, "A duel to the end?" "Your end!"

Meanwhile at the Shiba household Mia, Emily, Mike and Kevin watched as Lauren practiced by herself in the dojo. The rangers were amazed by their new leader's skill as she quickly and easily deflected the power disks that the Light zord shot at her. At that moment Ji and Takashi had returned from being outside, the samurai mentor studied his pupils for a bit then asked "Why aren't you practicing with her?"

The four rangers looked at each other before Emily took a step toward their mentor, "We want to go look for them…" "Jayden and Nariko would want you to help Lauren to complete your mission, to seal Master Xandred away."

"But what about-" started Mike only to have Ji cut him off, "The fate of the world rests on you working with Lauren."

"Ji and I will go find Jayden and Nariko…And all of you stay focus." Told Takashi

Mike reluctantly nodded at this, "Got it…"

Both Takashi and Ji quickly left the Shiba household to being their search for Jayden and Nariko. Their search ended up in the forest and they continued to call their names, "Jayden! Jayden!" called Ji

"Nariko! Nariko where are you!?" yelled Takashi

The older Yamada sibling and samurai mentor journeyed further into the forest, they soon stumbled upon Jayden and Nariko's things. Ji picked up the bandage that Jayden removed and stared at it in worry while Takashi gazed at his little sister's things with a frown upon his face.

Suddenly they heard the distinct sound of swords clashing in the distance, Ji and Takashi looked to find Jayden and Deker fighting upon a bridge with Nariko watching from a far. "Jayden! No…" said Ji

The samurai mentor watched in shock as Takashi darted off towards the battle and quickly followed after him, "Takashi wait!"

With the two skilled swordsmen and Yamada princess, Deker and Jayden continued on with their fierce battle not once letting up their attacks. "Uramasa has thirsted for this moment ever since you broke her into two." Told Deker, "My blade won't break this time! And I will be free from my curse!"

Their battle had moved on from the bridge and back into the forest, as the two swordsmen continued to clash Nariko continued to watch from a far feeling so helpless and worried for her fiance.

"Nariko!"

She immediately turned around and was surprised to see her brother and Ji running over to her, "Takashi, Ji! What are you doing here?!" the princess then accepted her brother's embrace as he tightly held her.

"All of us were worried about you and Jayden so Takashi and I left to find you both, to make sure you were ok." Told Ji

Nariko pulled apart from her brother, "I tried to stop Jayden from doing this but…"

The trio then looked to the two swordsmen as they heard something fell to find Jayden and Deker lying on the ground. Nariko rushed over to her fiance with Ji and Takashi following, "Jayden!"

Once reaching him, the princess knelt down in front of the red ranger grabbing his shoulders "Jayden please…You need to stop this!"

"Nariko is right Jayden, you must stop fighting you're still injured!" told Takashi

"Don't let him make you fight just for the sake of fighting!" said Ji

"Don't waste your breath." Told Deker, who slowly stood up from the ground "Get out of the way…You'll stop nothing…I will not let any of you stand in the way of our destiny!"

As Nariko, Takashi and Ji stood and faced Deker, the cursed swordsman readied his sword and charged at them. Jayden quickly stood up and grabbed Ji's arm, "No Mentor, Takashi, Nariko don't!"

Luckily Jayden managed to push through the trio, block Deker's attack and hitting him with one of his own. Though the force of doing this pushed Jayden back into Nariko, Ji and Takashi which resulted having them falling off a cliff they happened to be standing close to.

Jayden quickly held onto Nariko as they were falling while Takashi grabbed Ji, the older Yamada sibling looked at the red ranger "Jayden!" "I've got Nariko, Takashi!" "All right! Get ready this won't end well!"

Minutes later Takashi and Jayden managed to drag an unconscious Ji and Nariko out from the creek. Once they were on dry land Jayden looked to Nariko's brother who was checking up on the samurai mentor, "Takashi how's Ji?" "He's still breathing so he's fine for now."

The red ranger then turned his attention to the Yamada princess and soon became frightened once seeing that she's not breathing, "Takashi! Nariko's is not breathing!" "What?!" The older Yamada sibling rushed to Jayden's side as he began performing CPR on his fiance, "Come on Nariko! Come on breathe!"

And yet as the red ranger does this, he receives no response causing him to continue on, "Come on breathe! I can't lose you here! There's no way I'm losing you right now!" much to Jayden and Takashi's relief, Nariko opened her eyes and loudly gasp before harshly coughing out water.

"Nariko!" exclaimed Takashi, he gently cupped his sister's cheek "Oh my god…Don't scare me like that again!" "Ta-Takashi…"

Nariko is then pulled in close by Jayden who tightly embraced her, he lovingly kissed her forehead and whispered "I…I thought I had lost you there for a moment…" "Ja…Jayden…"

Takashi then turned to the unconscious form of the samurai mentor and began shaking his shoulder, "Ji! Ji are you ok?! Ji…Are you all right?! Ji! Ji are you ok!?" much to their relief Ji slowly opened his eyes. "Ji are you ok?" asked Jayden

"Yeah…" said Ji, he then sat up "I just need to get my breath back…That was a pretty big fall…" the samurai mentor rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the older Yamada sibling, "Thanks for the save Takashi." "No problem."

Ji then looked to Jayden and Nariko, "Well…We completed your father's plan, Jayden…" "Yes…And we did it well…You were a wonderful mentor, Ji."

"You were a good student, you also Nariko…Those years were difficult in many ways…But you were both strong and overcame every challenge…"

Ji laid his hand on the red ranger's shoulder, "I made a promise to both of your fathers…And I fulfilled it…Jayden you've become an excellent leader…You may not have the sealing power but you were truly the red ranger…I'm so proud of what you've become."

Jayden smiled at this and nodded at his mentor, "Thanks Ji…I think it's time you and Takashi left…Deker is coming to find me…I can feel it…"

"But…But Nariko…" said Takashi

The Yamada princess slowly stood up with the help of Jayden, "I'm fine Takashi…I just needed some rest…" "But you should still come back to the household with us."

"It's no use Takashi…Once Nariko has made her decision, she stands by it." Told Ji

Jayden nodded, "Ji is right…Nariko is really stubborn when it comes to these kind of things."

The samurai mentor then stood up with the help of Takashi, Ji then looked straight at his pupil "Don't fight Deker, Jayden…" "I've spent my whole life fighting as someone else…Besides…He'll never stop until this is finished…I have to defeat Deker once and for all."

Ji and Takashi shared a look with each other, the samurai mentor nodded and began walking away. Takashi looked back at Jayden and his sister "Then do it…We'll be rooting for you Jayden…" "Thank you Takashi."

The older Yamada sibling then stood in front of his sister and looked straight into her eyes, "Nariko…You look after yourself and Jayden." "I will Takashi…" thus the two siblings embraced each other and Takashi reluctantly let his sister go. He gave Nariko a small smile and a kiss to the forehead before taking his leave.

Though as soon as Takashi was out of their sights, Nariko collapsed right on the spot having Jayden quickly catch her "Nariko!" "I…I'm fine Jayden…" "No you're not! You need more rest…" the red ranger picked his fiance up and carried her over to a nearby tree, there he gently set her against the tree trunk.

"Stay here…I'm gonna fetch us some water." Said Jayden, Nariko simply nodded and watched her red ranger walk away.

A few minutes later Jayden was quietly sitting next to Nariko who was peacefully slumbering on his shoulder. The red ranger gently began to wipe his loved one's forehead with a wet piece of fabric he torn from his shirt. Jayden smiled a bit as he watched his fiance sleep, though his smile wiped off his face as he heard the loud cry of a horse.

The sound of the mammal immediately awoke Nariko, she quickly lifted her head off the red ranger's shoulder "Jayden?" "It's him…" Jayden quickly helped Nariko up just as Deker showed up riding a horse.

The red ranger firmly wrapped his arm around his fiance and stared down Deker who stopped his horse a few feet away. "Glad to see you didn't run away." Said the cursed swordsman "I never run away from a fight!" told Jayden

Deker just smirked at this, the red ranger then looked at his fiance "Nariko…" "I understand Jayden…Be careful…" "I will…" the couple shared a quick kiss and Jayden removed his arm in order for Nariko to safely step back.

Jayden then pulled out his samuraizer and used his symbol power to summon his horse. He got on his steed and pulled out his spin sword, "Let's finish this!" the two swordsmen charged at each other and thus continued their battle on horseback with Nariko watching her fiance in worry.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Back at the Shiba household, Takashi and Ji had safely returned only to have the rangers question what happened to them once seeing the state they're in. The two thus informed the rangers that Jayden is fighting Deker with Nariko staying behind to watch them. "We have to stop them." Said Mike

Ji shook his head at this, "You can't stop them…We've already tried…" Antonio who had received injuries from their battle with a nighlok named Gigertox, slowly stood up from his seat while gripping his side "Well I'm going to."

Unfortunately the pain was too much for the gold ranger and he slowly sat back down. "No! You need to stay and rest." Told Emily, Mia nodded in agreement "We'll take care of it. Come on guys!"

Though as Mia and Emily rushed out of the household, Mike was about to follow them when he noticed the blue ranger just standing there "Kevin! Come on let's go!" Emily and Mia soon returned once they noticed the boys were not following them.

"I'm gonna stay with Lauren…" told Kevin, "We need to divide and conquer in case there's another nighlok attack…I hate to split up the team but this way Lauren can continue mastering the sealing power while you help Jayden."

Mia nodded at this, "We understand…"

"Don't worry…We'll get him and Nariko back here safely." Told Mike, with that being said the three rangers rushed out of the household and began their search for Jayden and Nariko.

Meanwhile with Jayden and Deker, the two were still fighting with each other but had transformed. They continued their duel deeper into the forest, Nariko quickly summoned a horse with her symbol power and immediately followed after them. The Yamada princess soon found the two swordsmen in an open field and immediately stopped her horse a few feet away, "Jayden…"

The two swordsmen had their horses stood on opposite ends of the field, preparing themselves for their next move. "I won't rest until we finish this duel." Told Deker, Jayden tightly gripped his sword "Then let's finish this!"

Both Jayden and Deker urged their horses to burst into a full gallop towards each other, though as they got close to colliding with one another, the two swordsmen jumped off their horse and at each other. Their swords clashed with one another and the two swordsmen landed safely on the ground only to continue on with their duel.

Deker darkly chuckled as he continued to clash swords with Jayden, "You feel it too…The way of the sword is the only way to live." "No that's where you're wrong! The only good that comes from fighting is defeating evil!"

Meanwhile in the forest Mike, Emily and Mia were quickly running through desperately trying to find Jayden and Nariko. "Come on, run faster! We have to get to Jayden and Nariko before it's too late!" told Mike, throughout their search the day quickly faded into night with still no luck finding the engaged couple.

Back with Nariko, she still remained on her horse as the princess continued to watch her loved one fighting Deker. The Yamada heir tightly gripped her horse's reigns and thought to herself, "Neither Jayden or Deker have ceased in their attacks…They've been going at it for hours…They don't even look tired at all…And yet…I can't help but continue to worry for Jayden…I know he's strong but…I…I don't want to lose him here…Not to Deker…"

As the two swordsmen landed a hit on each other, Deker said to Jayden "The last time we dueled, you broke Uramasa into two…But this time the only thing that will break is my curse dueling you!"

Deker managed to make Jayden fall to his knee and was about to strike him until the red ranger stopped his sword with his own. Though that didn't stop the cursed swordsman from pushing his sword down and hurting the red ranger on the shoulder.

Jayden loudly cried out in pain from the attack causing Nariko to exclaim "Jayden!"

"You will fall to my sword! Uramasa and I will be free at last!" told Deker, he struck Jayden twice in the chest. The red ranger quickly tumbled away from his opponent, "No I must stop you!"

Jayden quickly stood and remained there as Deker came charging at him. The red ranger blocked the nighlok's attack and used this to get close to his opponent and attack him. Deker quickly turned around to try and attack Jayden from behind. Though the red ranger was quicker and blocked Deker's attack once more before knocking the cursed nighlok's sword out of his hand.

"This ends now!" declared Jayden, he raised his spin sword over his head and brought it down upon Deker, successfully striking him. An explosion went off in result of Deker finally being defeated. Nariko watched in horror as she witnessed this, "NO JAYDEN!"

She snapped her horse's reigns and made the mammal quickly gallop towards the location of the explosion. With the red ranger, he had returned to his normal attire after being caught off guard by the explosion. Jayden slowly sat up with the help of his spin sword, he looked at the fallen form of the cursed swordsman and smiled a bit, "It's…It's finally over…"

Though his smile soon faded as Jayden heard a faint chuckle coming from Deker. Jayden watched in disbelief as the cursed swordsman struggle to sit up, "That's impossible!" "This cursed body won't stop."

"Jayden!"

The red ranger looked and to his surprise found Mia, Emily and Mike standing by Nariko outside the ring of fire that had surrounded the two warriros, "Guys! What are you doing here?!"

"Please stop!" pleaded Nariko, "You two have fought enough!"

"Jayden stop!" exclaimed Mike

"Let's finish this!" told Deker

"No! Neither of you have to do this!" yelled Emily

"They don't know what they're talking about." Said Deker to Jayden, "This is all I ever needed to do…Raise your sword…" Deker slowly stood back up with the help of his sword, "It's time I found peace in your defeat."

Though as Deker went to lift up his sword, he found out he couldn't since his arm wouldn't move at his will. Jayden who had been carefully watching his opponent said, "Face it Deker…It's over! You're too tired to even lift your sword."

Before the cursed swordsman could say another word, he felt a pressure on his arm. Deker looked down and to his surprise found Dayu by his side on her knees, gripping his arm "Dayu…" right before Deker's eyes, he watched as Dayu transformed into her human self and pleaded to him, "Please…Don't do this…" "It's you…"

"I don't want to lose you again…"

"Release me…Let me be free of this curse…Please…"

Jayden stared at Deker in wonder as he watched the cursed swordsman talking to someone who isn't there and thought to himself, "Who is he talking to?"

Deker continued to stare at his hallucination, "Dayu…Please…" a single tear ran down Dayu's face as she reluctantly lets go of her swordsman's arm.

Jayden finally stood back up on his feet, "This fight is over." Though as he turned and began to walk away, Deker snapped his attention back on the red ranger, "If only it were that simple…" he then transformed into his nighlok form and readied his sword for an attack.

"JAYDEN!" exclaimed the three rangers and Nariko

The red ranger turned back around and let out a cry of surprise at that moment Deker was struck from behind just as Jayden took a step back and fell upon his butt. Deker froze in his place for a mere second, he then dropped his sword and collapsed where he stood. The person who had struck Deker from behind turned out to be Kevin, much to everyone's relief.

"We've got to get Jayden out of there!" said Nariko

Mia pointed to one spot in the ring of fire, "Come on! There's an opening that Kevin made with his water power!"

The Yamada princess rushed over to her fiance with Mia, Mike and Emily following. Once they helped him stand on his feet again, the group quickly rushed out of the ring of fire just as the opening closed off.

"Guys look!" cried Kevin

Everyone looked back and watched as Deker disappeared while weakly saying, "At last…I'm free…" Jayden casted his gaze to the ground and wrapped his arm around Nariko as she buried her face in his chest, "His curse has been finally lifted."

The darkness of night soon faded away to the sun's morning rays as the rangers remained with Jayden and Nariko at the battle site, with no one uttering a single word. The silence was finally broken by Jayden standing up from his spot, he faced his team "Thank you for helping me out last night…I'm sorry I couldn't share my secret…Lauren and the plan had to be protected…It's time for us to go…"

Jayden then helped Nariko up from the ground and before the couple could leave, Kevin who had his back to his leader abruptly turned around "Jayden stop! You know you're still our leader!"

"We don't care that you kept your secret from us." Told Mia, "When we followed you it was real."

"But I'm not who you thought I was." Admitted the red ranger

Mike stood up from the log he sat on, "What about all those battles? You're telling me, we didn't know the man we trusted to lead the team? If you think everything our team has done isn't real just because you kept a secret…Then tell it to our faces…"

Jayden slowly turned to the green ranger with a serious look on his face but also had a single tear running down his cheek. Mike studied his friend for a bit and shook his head, "I didn't think so…"

Nariko couldn't help but smile a bit at her fiance, she reached up and gently brushed away his tear with her finger. Jayden looked at his loved one and smiled a bit before embracing her, the rangers joined the couple's side giving the red ranger comforting pats on the back.

Not even a minute later Kevin's samuraizer went off and he immediately answered it, "Yes Ji?...Got it…We'll be there…" the blue ranger ended the call and turned to the others, "Moogers…Down by the marina…Lauren and Antonio are already on their way…Jayden…Please join us…"

The rangers anxiously looked at their leader for any answer, Jayden studied the others for a bit then looked at Nariko who smiled and nodded. Jayden nodded back and looked at the rangers, "Go on…I'll need a minute…But I promise I'll meet you there."

"Seriously?" asked Mike

Jayden nodded once again causing Mike to smile and bump fists with the red ranger, "Sweet!"

As Kevin, Mike, Mia and Emily ran off to join Antonio and Lauren in battle, Jayden turned to his princess, "Nariko…" the Yamada heir caressed her fiancé's cheek, "There's no need…I know what you're going to say…I'll make my way back to the Shiba household right now and wait for your return…"

Jayden's placed his hand over Nariko's, "Be careful…" "You too…" he took her hand off his cheek and kissed it before quickly running off.

10 minutes have quickly come and gone, currently Nariko is running along the seashore trying to make her way back to the Shiba household. She immediately stopped in her tracks once spotting a dark whirlwind appear a few feet away from her and shooting up into the sky, "What in the world? What's this feeling? That whirlwind is emitting some sort of energy…It feels like…Sadness and misery…Oh no…"

The Yamada princess quickly ran towards the location of the whirlwind with a sense of dread filling her body. Nariko arrived at the same time Kevin, Mike and Emily did who came to join Mia. Nariko immediately stopped in her tracks as she spotted a familiar evil dark creature standing right next to Dayu, "O-Oh no…It's him…It's Xandred…"

The powerful nighlok evilly laughed and took a step forward, "Samurai rangers! Give up you have no hope!" Xandred glanced at his minion, "Dayu…Thanks to you I'm back!"

Dayu tiredly turned towards her master, "I…I've repaid my debts…"

Master Xandred turned his attention back on his enemies before him, "Now the human's world shall fall to me!" Nariko tightly gripped her necklace and thought, "This…Does not look good right now…" she tighten her grip more as the Yamada princess heard Master Xandred loudly roar as he prepared to finish what he didn't accomplish many years ago.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Dayu stumbled over to her nighlok master, her strength fading by the second, "M-Master Xandred…" the nighlok king turned toward his minion as she fell before his feet, "Your harmonium brought me back Dayu…The final tune it played was…Powerful…" "My misery did it…"

"Your centuries of suffering unleashed all that power and now the Sanzu River is surging! I've never heard you play anything like it!"

"I didn't play it for you! I played for Deker…" with the last of her remaining strength, Dayu managed to stand back up on her feet, "T…This is the end of me…But it is also the end of my sadness…S…So many years I've held onto my sorrow…"

Xandred held Dayu up as she began falling back, he lowly growled as nighlok musician continued "But now…" "You should've embraced the nighlok life." "I was never truly a nighlok…My heart remained human…"

"Well…Perhaps you could still be of use to me…"

"Master!"

"Go be with Deker if you like."

Master Xandred then began to tightly squeeze Dayu who cried out in pain. "What's he doing to her?" wondered Nariko

"No stop!" cried Mia

The nighlok king simply ignored her plea and squeezed the last of Dayu's strength out of her, as she lay limp in his hold and began disappearing Xandred said "But part of you will stay with me!"

Right before their eyes Dayu disappeared only leaving a kimono robe draped over Xandred's shoulder. The article of clothing soon fell from the nighlok's shoulder as his injury on the upper part of his body healed. "What did he do to her?" questioned Mia

"Now for you Samurai Rangers!" snapped Master Xandred, he roared and took a couple of steps forward, "Where is the red ranger that deceived me all this time?! I want him! Red ranger!"

"Over here!"

Xandred turned to find Lauren and Antonio standing a few feet away, the female red ranger readied her sword, "I'm the red ranger and your downfall!"

"Ha! What can a little girl like you do? Today is the end of the rangers!"

"The only thing ending is you!"

"You're a fool!" roared Xandred, he swung his sword and fire shot out of it.

Antonio quickly tackled Lauren out of the way and into a little ditch with boulders surrounding them, "Look out!"

Nariko quickly rushed over to Lauren and Antonio just as Mike, Kevin, Mia and Emily did, "Antonio, Lauren are you all right?!"

"Nariko…What are you doing here?" asked Antonio

"Never mind that, neither of you have answered my question!"

"We're fine Nariko…Where's my brother?" questioned Lauren

"Last time I saw Jayden, he left to help you guys…"

"Then he's most likely making his way here…Nariko I need you to stay here and keep out of sight…It's a good thing Master Xandred hasn't seen you yet…"

Lauren looked to the rest of her fellow rangers, "Now I'm going to use the sealing symbol against Master Xandred but it takes time to write so I need for you to keep him busy, got it?"

"Got it!" answered Emily

Lauren pulled out the black box and handed it to the blue ranger, "Kevin take the black box." "Gladly." The female red ranger then turned to Mike and handed him a power disk, Mike grinned from behind his helmet "The shark disk! It'll help us cover you while you seal Master Xandred."

Everyone snapped their attention forward as they heard growling, to their dismay they found Xandred a few feet before them "Well, well, well…If it isn't my precious Yamada princess…I wasn't expecting to find you here…Saves me the trouble to go out and search for you."

The rangers immediately stood in front of Nariko to protect her, Lauren looked back at the Yamada heir "Nariko go now!" "Right!" the princess ran off just as Kevin and the others began to attack Xandred while Lauren began the process of writing the sealing symbol.

Nariko soon hid behind a nearby boulder and watched the rangers bravely fight against the nighlok king. Though as she watched the battle, the Yamada heir jumped a bit as she heard a voice call out her name "Nariko!" the princess looked behind and much to her relief found her fiance running towards her, "Jayden!"

She quickly ran over to her red ranger and tightly embraced him, "Jayden!" "Nariko what are you doing here?! I thought I told you to go back to the Shiba household!" "I was…But Master Xandred came back and…"

Jayden broke the embrace and looked at her, "That's all right…As long as you're safe…" he then looked over Nariko's shoulder and spotted his sister a few feet away, "Lauren…" Nariko turned to find that Jayden's sister is in the process of writing the sealing symbol, "She's already doing it…"

Much to the couple's surprise they were suddenly surrounded by moogers, Jayden drew his spin sword while Nariko pulled out her sais. The engaged couple looked at each other and nodded, thus the two began fighting off the small army of moogers that charged at them.

It didn't take Nariko and Jayden long to defeat the moogers, once making sure that the creatures were defeated the couple looked back on the battle to find Kevin, Mike, Mia, Emily and Antonio on the ground with Xandred standing over them. The nighlok king scoffed at the sight, "Pathetic…"

Xandred then turned his sights on Lauren who was still writing the sealing symbol, the nighlok leader began walking towards her. "Almost done…Almost done…" muttered Lauren, she then finished the symbol at the last second just as Xandred sent fire at her.

The female red ranger sent the symbol towards Xandred which successfully impacted him and sent him into the rocky wall covered in fire. Kevin and the others got back on their feet and stumbled over to Lauren watching the event unfold.

"Yes!" cried Antonio

"It worked!" said Mia

"He's gone!" said Mike

"She did it!" exclaimed Emily

"Amazing!" said Kevin

Nariko lightly laughed and tightly embraced Jayden, "She did it Jayden! Lauren did it!" "Yeah…She did…" Lauren who had fallen to her knees, looked at her father's samuraizer in her hand "I did it Father! I finally sealed Master Xandred…"

Though to everyone completely and utter horror, Master Xandred emerged from the flames unharmed. Nariko let go of Jayden and stared at the nighlok in disbelief, "Im…Impossible…Wh…What's with that white patch on his chest? I never saw that before!"

"This is far from over rangers!" told Xandred

"No…No you were sealed!" said Jayden

"But…No nighlok can stop the sealing symbol!" exclaimed Lauren

"This white patch…" said Xandred, "Dayu's human side is what saved me."

"He must've absorbed Dayu's body…" said Mia, "He's not pure nighlok anymore!"

Xandred placed his hand over the white patch, "And now I don't need Sanzu River water to keep me from drying out!"

Lauren looked at her samuraizer then back at the nighlok king, "How can we stop him now?!" Xandred evilly laughed at this, "Ha, ha, ha! You can't!" he then attacked the rangers with his powers and loudly roared injuring the rangers even more.

The group collapsed right where they stood, all of them groaning in pain from their injuries. "No!" cried Jayden, both he and Nariko rushed over to the rangers. As the Yamada princess checked on their friends, Jayden stood in front of them with his samuraizer in hand "I got this!"

The red ranger quickly wrote out a symbol, "Symbol power: Teleport!"

And just like that the group disappeared before Xandred in a thick cloud of smoke. The nighlok king lowly growled as he stared at the empty spot before him, "I'll finish you rangers later and capture my princess." Xandred turned and walked over to the fallen kimono robe, picking the clothing up "Dayu, Dayu, Dayu…You have served me well…Nothing can save the humans now." With that being said Xandred retreated back to the netherworld through a gap amongst the rocks.

Day had faded into night once more and at the Shiba household Mike, Kevin, Antonio, Mia and Emily were spread out in the living and dojo going over today's event. "Master Xandred beat us bad…" said Mike, "If the sealing symbol didn't work…What else can we do?"

Mia leaned her back against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest, "He's immune to the sealing power…He doesn't even need Sanzu water…"

"Can he even be beat?" questioned Antonio

Kevin growled in frustration and hit the punching bag before him, "We almost had him!"

"I feel so sorry for Lauren." Said Emily, "She spent her whole life learning the sealing symbol…And it was all for nothing…"

Little did the rangers knew Nariko was listening to their conversation from around the coroner, she sighed a bit and made her way to the guest bedroom where Takashi is currently resting. Upon entering Takashi opened his eyes and looked at his little sister, "Nariko…" The young Yamada sibling walked over and sat by her brother's side, "Hey…How are you feeling?" "Fine…You know you already asked that five minutes ago…" "I know…"

"How are the others?"

"They're fine…Somewhat…They're still upset by today's event…"

"I don't blame them…They almost got rid of Master Xandred…But we didn't know Xandred was going to absorb Dayu's body in order to make him half human, half nighlok…How's Lauren?"

"Still recovering…But she's fine…Though I have a feeling she's taking it harder than the others."

"I bet…"

"I'm going to head outside for a bit…Do you need anything?"

"Not right now…I'll probably get some more sleep." "Ok...Good night Takashi…"

"Good night Nariko."

And thus the Yamada princess left, though as she stepped outside Nariko quickly hid behind the wall once spotting Jayden and Lauren outside sitting on the bench together. "Lauren…Are you ok?" asked Jayden, she didn't answer for a few seconds as she gazed at the night sky then said "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Jayden also looked up at the night sky, "Yeah…" "Kind of reminds you what we're fighting for…" "Lauren…"

"You know what's coming next, don't you? That cloud of sorrow that Dayu released probably has the Sanzu River ready to burst…Nothing will stop Master Xandred from sailing his evil ship into our world…I let everybody down Jayden…You…The rangers…Nariko…Takashi…And especially Dad…"

Lauren took her gaze off the night sky and looked at her little brother, "I'm handing the leadership of the rangers back to you." Jayden was about to protest but his sister quickly cut him off, "I came here to seal Master Xandred but that didn't work…Now the right thing is for you to lead the team again. You have a great team Jayden, they need you now. The whole world needs you."

Jayden smiled a bit at this, "I'll do my best…It's time to finish what Dad started."

Lauren nodded and stood up from the bench, "I'll call a meeting right away and tell the others." As she made her way into the household, Nariko step out from behind the wall and approached her fiance. Jayden immediately looked to his side once hearing footsteps and was surprised to see his loved one outside, "Nariko…You were outside?" "Yeah…I kind of overheard your conversation with Lauren…" she took a seat next to Jayden and remained silent for bit before asking, "So…I'm guessing tomorrow is it then…The final battle…" "Yes…"

Jayden then placed his hand over Nariko's and tightly held it, "I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to protect you and the innocent lives on this planet…And if I don't happen to make it …" "Jayden don't…Just don't…We're not turning this conversation as our last good bye..."

The Yamada princess laid her head on her ranger's shoulder with a few tears running down her face, "B-Because I'm not saying good bye…Promise me Jayden…Promise me you'll come back to me…" Jayden wrapped his arm around Nariko and held her close, "I promise…I'll come back to you…"

5 minutes later in the living room everyone had gathered together for the meeting, Lauren sat at the head of the table and looked at the others "Tomorrow Master Xandred needs to be stopped…But before then…I have something to say…As you know the sealing symbol has failed to stop him…I wasn't able to get the job done, I'm handing the leadership of the team back over to Jayden."

"Really?" asked Mike

"I thought you might like that idea." Said Lauren, "Jayden is the best chance that we have."

The red ranger nodded at his sister, "Thank you Lauren." She stood up from her seat and stepped aside to let Jayden take her place. He studied his team for a moment and said, "All right listen up…Master Xandred is more powerful than ever…It appears that he's unbeatable…But I have a plan…We're attacking him with brute force."

"That's…That's you plan?" questioned Mike

"Lauren's attempt to seal Master Xandred didn't work, but it definitely weakened him. Dayu's human essence may have saved him but also created a weak spot that we can exploit. Forget sealing him, if we can hit that spot with a strong enough blow we may be able to stop him."

"Yeah but we'll need more power." Told Kevin

"And you'll have it." Said Takashi, Lauren pulled out a power disk and handed it to her brother, "All thanks to this." "The Shiba fire disk." Said Jayden

Lauren looked at the others, "I am too hurt to join you in battle but…I used every last ounce of my strength to pack that disk with as much symbol power I could…Hopefully it's enough for you to defeat Master Xandred, once and for all."

"Nice!" said Mike, "Thanks Lauren, for everything you've done to help us."

"No doubt it'll be a tough battle but we're a strong team and I believe together we can accomplish anything."

The rangers smiled and voiced their agreements, Ji couldn't help but smile a bit at this and softly said to himself, "Such spirit…I pray that they come back…"

The following morning all was peaceful in the city that is until Master Xandred began his invasion. At the Shiba household the gap sensor went off, Ji and Nariko were already in the living room looking over the virtual map of the city. "What…This looks like an invasion!" said Ji as he studied the blinking red dots that covered the map.

Jayden and the other rangers rushed into the room at this time to look at the map, "Whoa…Look at all those spots!" said Mike

"I've never seen so many go all off at once before!" said Mia

"The Sanzu River is flooding into our world…" told Nariko, she looked at the rangers "Looks like the battle for our world has begun…"

Jayden looked at his team, "It's time to make our stand and defeat Master Xandred for good."

The rangers nodded and as they rushed out of the household, Jayden stayed behind and turned to his fiance, "Nariko…" she smiled a bit and cupped his cheek, "Remember our promise…" "And I'll keep it…I'll come back to you…" Jayden then captured Nariko's lips in a passionate kiss, the two remained lip locked for a good minute until the red ranger reluctantly pulled away.

He cupped Nariko's cheek and wiped away the stray tear that ran down her face, "I love you Nariko…" "I love you too Jayden…" the couple shared one more kiss before Jayden finally departed the household with Nariko watching him.

Minutes later the rangers arrived a few feet outside the flooded city and took in the sight of the huge nighlok army of moogers before them. "Look at them all…" said Antonio

"This is it." Said Mia

"You still happy that you became a samurai?" asked Mike

Antonio looked at his fellow ranger, "Are you serious? Being a ranger is the best thing that ever happened to me! I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"Me neither."

"No place I'd rather be." Said Emily

"I guess I don't have to ask you if you're ready for this then." Said Jayden, Kevin looked at his leader "Jayden…As long as you're with us…We're ready for anything."

"No matter what we're up against…We're in this together, all the way." Told Emily

At that moment all the moogers spotted the rangers and readied their weapons, "Looks like they spotted us." Said Mia

"Right…Let's do this!" told Jayden

All the rangers pulled out their samuraizers and transformed, the six rangers thus drew their swords and charged at the massive mooger army. Though while they fought the moogers much to their surprise Master Xandred arrived on his ship roaring, "Rangers! The hour of your destruction is at hand! Prepare to meet your doom!"

All the rangers gathered at Jayden's side who said, "Take your best shot Master Xandred!" "Oh we will!"

As the moogers gathered in front of their nighlok leader, Jayden looked pass them and at a certain spot on Xandred's body, "There on his chest! That's where he absorbed Dayu's humanity. It could be his only weak spot…" he pulled out the Shiba power disk and equipped it to the black box which is attached to his spin sword, "I may only get one shot to strike him there so I've got to make it count! Super Samurai Mode!"

Once the white cloak appeared on his body, Jayden looked to his team "Get me in close!" Kevin nodded, "All right! Flanking positions! Mia and Emily in the front, Mike and I in the rear, Antonio watch our backs!"

The rangers immediately got into their positions, Kevin looked to his leader "Mike and I will shield you…" "You just focus on hitting that spot!" finished Mike

"It's time…" told Jayden, "Get me to Master Xandred, no matter what the costs!"

Thus the rangers began their charge and pushed through the mooger army protecting Xandred. Though while they continued to push towards the nighlok king Xandred scoffed at their efforts "Foolish rangers! Fighting onward to their doom."

The two female rangers quickly finished off the last mooger that stood in their way and turned to their leader, "All clear Jayden!" told Mia "Go for it!" said Emily

The girls quickly got out of the way just as Xandred sent a fire attack to the guys, Mike and Kevin immediately shield Jayden, taking the hit. As the two went down Jayden continued on forward activating the power disk which covered his blade in flames, "My sister couldn't seal you, but I can still destroy you!"

Jayden quickly dodged Xandred's attack and stabbed the nighlok's white patch hard. The rangers cheered as they witness their leader successfully hit Xandred. Jayden pushed his blade deeper into the white patch, "I knew that this would be your weak spot!"

Though much to his shock Xandred grabbed Jayden's blade and the fire immediately went out, "I see…Not a bad strategy red ranger…" "Huh?!" "But you won't defeat me that easily!" the nighlok king pulled the blade from his chest and threw Jayden over him.

The red ranger tumbled to the ground with the rangers quickly going to his side and helped him up, "Jayden!" exclaimed Antonio "Are you ok?!" asked Emily, Kevin looked at the nighlok leader in disbelief "Impossible!"

"You really think you could destroy me?" questioned Xandred

Jayden readied his sword once more, "This isn't over Master Xandred!"

Much to the rangers' shock the Shiba power disk broke apart in the black box and pieces of it fell to the ground. "The Shiba fire disk!" exclaimed Mia

"Ha! Your one chance at victory, now lies shattered on the ground!" told Xandred, "Nether Wind!"

Suddenly a huge powerful gust of wind came in and injured the rangers, though Xandred wasn't finished yet as he summoned another power of his, "Flames of the Netherworld!"

The nighlok king laughed evilly as he witnessed the rangers gets hit with his fire and power down from the intensity of the attack. As the rangers were lying upon the ground from the attack, Xandred said "Well? I'm waiting! Beg me to spare you, you worthless rangers!"

Jayden glared at the nighlok king while gripping his side in pain, "No matter what you do to us…We'll never bow to you!"

"Even now your spirit can't be broken." Said Xandred, "Perhaps you just lack the proper incentive if you won't beg for yourselves then I'll capture the other red ranger and the Yamada princess and see if you'll beg to spare them!"

Jayden immediately tried to get back up, "N-Nariko…Lauren…N-No!" though to his dismay the red ranger collapsed. He couldn't help but watch the nighlok king depart, feeling a sense of dread in his chest and worry for his fiance and sister.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

A few minutes after Master Xandred had departed; Jayden spotted some moogers a few feet away from them and struggled to stand up. Once on his knees the red ranger looked at his team, "You guys can stand right? Cause…We have to find a way to stop Master Xandred…"

Antonio struggled to sit up but simply waved off his pain, "I was just taking a little siesta…" Emily nodded and slowly stood, "Me too…" Mia stood up also, "Samurai rangers never give up!"

As the rest of the rangers were finally back on their feet Kevin said, "For generations our families have waited for this moment!"

"What we do today will be remember forever." Told Jayden

With that being said the rangers drew their spin swords once again and charged at the small army of moogers.

Meanwhile back at the Shiba household, Lauren was in the dojo preparing another power disk. Ji, Nariko and Takashi were there too and couldn't help but watch her in worry. Takashi went over to Lauren's side with Nariko and Ji following, "Lauren…Are you all right?"

"Jayden risked his life every day to protect the world, Takashi…They need another disk…I owe it to him to give every ounce of my sealing power…It may be their only hope…" once she finished writing the symbol, Lauren sent it into the power disk that is on a stand before her.

Though as the disk was completed Lauren collapsed right on the spot, Takashi quickly caught her "Lauren!" "I…I'm fine…" the female red ranger weakly looked to the samurai mentor, "Take the fire disk to my brother…Tell him I gave everything I had left…"

Ji walked over and removed the power disk from the stand, "And it has all your power…" "But the power can only be used once…Go!" the samurai mentor nodded and rushed out the household.

15 minutes passed when an alarm loudly went off in the household, Nariko and Takashi who was tending to Lauren in the living room looked at the blinking sensor. "Are more nighlok entering our world?" wondered Takashi

Nariko shook her head at this, "No…This is a different alarm…" she went to the table and pulled up the virtual. The Yamada princess stared at the blinking dots that were slowly approaching the household, "Something is approaching the house…"

A loud chilling roar sent chills down their spines, "Don't…Don't tell me that was…" said Takashi "Master Xandred." Finished Nariko

"What are we going to do? I mean you and I can't face Xandred, he's too strong for us. Not only that, Lauren is too weak to even defend herself."

The Yamada princess thought for a moment then slowly turned to her brother, "I'm going out there…" "What?! By yourself? Nariko it's too dangerous!" "Master Xandred is most likely here for one reason and that's me."

"So you're going to give yourself up to that monster?!"

"If it's to protect you and Lauren then yes…Besides it's about time I find out on why he wants me so much."

"Nariko…Please…Don't do this…"

"I have to Takashi…I firmly believe it is my duty to protect our clan and the people that I love from Xandred and his nighlok…Even if it means I have to sacrifice myself…"

"Nariko…"

The Yamada heir tightly embraced her older brother, "I love you so much Takashi…And if I don't come back…I want you to know that you're the best big brother I ever had and I'm glad I got to see you again…" Takashi was at a loss for words but he returned the embrace with all his might. He reluctantly let his younger sibling go as the sound of Xandred's roaring began to draw closer to the household.

"It's time…" said Nariko, she looked to her fiance's sister "Please look after Takashi for me, Lauren." "I will."

Thus the Yamada princess slowly departed from the household and stood outside the gates. It didn't take long for Master Xandred to arrive with a small army of moogers behind him. The nighlok king stopped a few feet away from Nariko, "Well, well, well…If it isn't the Yamada princess…You're just the person I was looking for…" "Well found me, so there's no reason for you to attack the Shiba house."

"Is that so?"

"I'll make a deal with you…I'll come willing with you without a fight if you promise not to attack the Shiba house."

"And how do I know you'll keep your word?"

Nariko pulled out her sais and threw the weapons onto the ground, "There's your proof…" "Hmm…For once I shall comply…I accept your deal."

"One thing before you take me away…What is your purpose for capturing me?"

"Simple…It's your family's power that I want…Long ago when I was human, I was betrothed to your Yamada ancestor in order to gain control of your weapons and lightening power for my own evil purposes…But that was all ruined no thanks to a samurai ranger who happened to be in love with your ancestor and discovered my evil intents…From there you know the rest of the story, I became nighlok king and raged battle against the samurai rangers with my intent to take over the world."

"So you're planning to force me to marry then?"

Master Xandred evilly chuckled at this, "That's for me to know and for you to find out…Enough talking…Moogers!"

Two moogers made their way over to Nariko and tightly took a hold of her arms, Xandred turned around and began walking away "Bring the Yamada princess, it's time that I finish off this pathetic city and those pesky rangers."

Back with the rangers they had finished off the moogers when Ji arrived on his motorcycle. The samurai mentor parked his bike and rushed over to his students, "Is everyone all right?" "We're fine." Told Kevin

"Don't worry Mentor." Said Emily, "You and Nariko told us to never give up. We'll beat Master Xanded if it's the last thing we do."

"And after that you're going to teach me something new." Said Mike

"And what is that?" questioned Ji

"To ride your motorcycle."

"Now that scares me more than any nighlok." Ji then approached Jayden and handed him the power disk, "This is for you…" "Another Shiba fire disk? But how could she?" "Lauren gave it everything she had…But I'm afraid it can only be used one time."

"One time…" Jayden safely placed the disk in his pocket, "I'll be sure not to waste it."

Ji pulled out another power disk but this one happened to be white, "This disk…Belonged to your Father before his last battle…He asked me to save it for a moment like this…Use it to double your power."

Jayden took the white disk and studied it for a moment then looked at his mentor, "Everything rides on this last battle…" "I have faith in you."

Meanwhile in the city, the citizens ran away in fear as moogers were running around causing havoc. Master Xandred evilly laughed as he walked through an abandoned construction site, watching the humans fearfully run away. "Master Xandred! It's time to finish this!"

The nighlok king stopped in his tracks and turned around to find Jayden and the others standing a few feet away, "Huh? I thought I told you pathetic pests to wait!" "Sorry we became impatient." Said Mike

"You will fall and this world will be protected." Told Jayden

"Unfortunately for you red ranger you failed to protect the one person that mattered to you most." Said Xandred

"Huh?"

"Moogers! Bring her to me!"

From within the confines of an abandon building, two moogers dragged a struggling Nariko out and have her stood by their master's side. "Nariko!" exclaimed Jayden, the Yamada princess ceased her struggling and looked at her fiance "Jayden!"

Master Xandred evilly chuckled, "Surprised red ranger? By the look on your face you clearly are." The moogers let the princess go just as their master gripped her throat, "My first intent was to capture the Yamada princess and marry her in order to gain control of her family's powers but now I found a simpler way…"

Nariko tried to pull Xandred's hand off her throat but it proved to be no use. She grunted in pain as the nighlok king tightened his grip on her throat, "Be still! This won't take long…" Xandred held his other hand over Nariko's face, his hand began to glow dark red and the princess began crying out in pain.

Her cries soon ceased and her eyes slowly closed as Xandred removed Nariko's soul from her body. The nighlok king dropped the princess' body and studied the white soul sphere in his hand, "Such a pretty soul…" much to the rangers' horror they witness Xandred swallow the soul whole "And a delicious one at that."

"NARIKO!" yelled Jayden, he along the other rangers drew their swords and charged at the oncoming moogers.

The group quickly disposed Xandred's minions and morphed before charging at the nighlok king. He easily dodged their attacks and as they stumbled a few feet back, Xandred said "I've had enough of these games!"

The nighlok leader attacked once more but the rangers stood their ground and blocked the attack. Acting quickly Kevin, Mia, Antonio, Mike and Emily wrote out a symbol "Symbol power: Capture!"

Xandred tried to deflect the symbols but they successfully immobilized him, the nighlok growled in frustration "You think your symbol powers can hold me for long?!"

Jayden immediately equipped his father's power disk to his fire smasher which in turn gave the red ranger two fire smashers. He charged at Master Xandred and attacked his white patch with three powerful blows, the nighlok leader broke free of the symbol power and roared once more "Think again!"

The power from his roar pushed Jayden back and he tumbled to the ground, the red ranger quickly got on his knees while gripping his chest in pain "Now!" "Now what?!" snapped Xandred

Much to his surprise Mia, Emily, Mike and Antonio attacked Xandred with their swords and held them there in order for Kevin to equip the Shiba fire disk to his sword. The blue ranger charged at Xandred as he push the other rangers away from him "Unhand me!"

Though before the nighlok leader could block the attack, Kevin successfully struck his white patch. Xandred growled in pain and fell to one knee, holding his chest. "Finish him Jayden!" told Kevin

"Thanks to Lauren's Shiba disk I'm hoping to do just that!" said the red ranger, he equipped another power disk to his sword and activated it "Shogun mode, power of the ancestors!"

"What's this?!" exclaimed Xandred

"It's the end of the line for you!"

Jayden charged at the nighlok king and continued to attack the white patch on the creature's chest, "In order for this to work I've got to keep hitting that spot!" he attacked Xandred's white patch one last time which greatly affected the nighlok, "T-This can't be! Im-Impossible!"

The red ranger quickly stepped away from Xandred as he gave one last roar, "You haven't seen the last of me!" and thus the nighlok was gone right before their eyes in a fiery explosion.

"Yes…We did it…" panted Jayden, "He's really gone…I can't believe Lauren's disk had enough power to unlock Shogun mode…" he looked at his team, "Well done rangers." The red ranger then looked at fallen form of his fiance, "Nariko!"

He rushed over to the Yamada princess with the rangers following, Jayden pulled his loved one into his arms, "Nariko! Can you hear me?!" "Is she all right Jay?" asked Antonio "I…I don't know…"

Suddenly the rangers heard a loud rumbling sound, they looked and much to their shock found a gigantic Xandred standing before them. "Samurai Rangers! Now your world will end!" roared the nighlok king, "Time to face my wrath!"

"No Master Xandred it's time to face the wrath of the samurai!" told Kevin

Jayden gently set Nariko back down and ran his finger down her cheek, "I'm still keeping my promise…I'll come back to you and I'll save your soul from Master Xandred…He'll pay for what he did to you."

Thus the rangers prepared themselves for their last megazord battle by assembling their Samurai Gigazord. As they began their charge at the nighlok king, Xandred said "I hate you rangers! I'll take you down if it's the last thing I do and I'll accomplish it by using your precious princess' lightening powers!"

He thrust out his hand and bolts of lightning shot from it, hitting the rangers' gigazord dead on. The rangers were knocked away from their controls due to the powerful impact from the lightning. "Xandred is more powerful than ever now that he's using Nariko's powers!" said Emily, "What do we do now?!"

"At this rate…We won't last long!" said Mia

Kevin stood up and returned to his controls, he pulled out his samuraizer "I'll buy us sometime!" though before the blue ranger could anything, Jayden held out his arm in front of him "Wait! Don't use symbol power yet!"

"Why not?"

"We can't use it in small amounts…He'll win that way…" told Jayden, he then powered down "We have to demorph and combine every last ounce of our symbol power into one grand strike."

"What?" said Antonio

"We can only beat him as a team."

The rangers immediately followed their leader's order, "With one attack?" asked Mike, "What if we miss?" questioned Mia

"We have to get so close that we can't miss." Told Jayden

"We have to do it." Said Emily, "To save the world!"

"It sounds risky…And dangerous…Let's do it!" said Emily

"Remember…No matter what happens we cannot retreat, we have to keep going at all costs…Even if we have one zord left…Everything is riding on this one attack." Told Jayden

"Right!" said the rangers

"Ok then…Attack!"

As the samurai gigazord began moving forward, Xandred said "So…You're coming back for more…Take this!" the nighlok king attacked with his sword which made the rangers lose three zords though they kept on going.

Xandred kept attacking until it was only the megazord that was left, as they drew very close to the nighlok Jayden looked to his team "Ok guys…This is it…I just want to say…That no red ranger has led a better team of samurai…"

"Jayden…" said Mia

"I'm honored to have fought beside you and to call you my friends."

"I think…No I know we all feel the same way!" said Kevin

"It all comes down to this…" said Jayden, "Now! Use all the symbol power you have left!"

The rangers placed all their symbol powers into their sword and landed a powerful strike upon Master Xandred. The nighlok king was completely shocked by this, "Im-Impossible!" he held onto the ranger's megazord, "Samurai rangers hear me now! You have won this battle but our quest to rule your world will never end! You may have defeated me but the nighlok will rise again!" with that being said Master Xandred went away in a large fiery explosion that rangers were caught up in.

It didn't take long for Ji to arrive in the city and stumbled upon the soulless body of the Yamada princess, "Nariko!" he rushed over to her and gently cupped her cheek, "Nariko! Nariko it's me Ji! Come on Nariko wake up!" unfortunately she remained still and unresponsive to his calls.

The samurai mentor then looked up and much to his relief found Jayden and the other rangers all right, "Jayden, rangers you did it! You've saved the world, the nighlok are defeated!" the news brought a smile to their faces but it soon faded once they laid eyes upon Nariko's unmoving form.

Jayden rushed over to his mentor who immediately handed Nariko over, the red ranger held her close and cupped her cheek "Nariko…Nariko wake up! Come on wake up! We did it…The rangers and I did it…We defeated Master Xandred! Come on you need to wake up! Nariko! Nariko!"

Unfortunately the princess gave no response and remained still, "But we defeated Master Xandred! Her soul should've been released!" said Kevin

"You…You don't think…That when Xandred absorbed her soul that…" said Antonio

Mia abruptly turned to him with tears in her eyes, "D-Don't say that! It can't be true, Nariko's soul isn't lost!"

Emily couldn't help but start to cry at this causing Mike to pull her into an embrace and began comforting her. Jayden held back his tears as he continued to stare at his loved one's sleeping face, he stroke her cheek with his finger "I kept my promise to you…I came back…A-And now all I want from you is to come back also…Please wake up Nariko…After all we've been through, I don't want to lose you here…I-I can't imagine the rest of my life without you, so please…Come back to me…"

Tears ran down Jayden's face as he kissed Nariko's lips, the red ranger slowly pulled away and whispered "Please come back to me…I love you so much, you hear me? Nariko I love you…"

Everyone else remained silent as they began to mourn, though Antonio's attention was soon caught by something in the sky. He studied it for a moment before shaking his best friend's shoulder "Jayden look!" the red ranger along with the others looked up to find a white spirit orb flying down towards them.

"Is…Is that what I think it is?" asked Mike

Everyone watched as the spirit orb fly down and floated before their eyes for a few seconds. The orb then hovered over Nariko's chest for a second before slowly disappearing into her body. Seconds ticked by when they heard a soft groan from Nariko's body, much to everyone's relief the princess slowly opened her eyes.

"N-Nariko!?" said the red ranger, she looked at her fiance and give him a tired smile "Ja…Jayden…" the princess then looked at the others, "Hey guys…"

The rangers and Ji gave out a loud cry of happiness while Jayden tightly hugged Nariko, with tears running down his face. "I really thought I completely lost you there…" told Jayden, Nariko kissed his cheek returned the embrace "But you didn't…And thank you for saving me…"

Once everyone had given each other pats on the back and a hug to Nariko, Antonio turned to his best friend "Just say it one more time." Jayden grinned at this, "Let's say it together." All of them placed their hands over each other and together they loudly proclaimed "Samurai rangers victory is ours!"

A few days after the victory over Xandred, Kevin and the others prepared their things to depart from the household and return to their normal lives. Currently in the living room Jayden and Nariko were saying good bye to their older siblings. "We couldn't have done it without you sis and your support Takashi…I wish you two could stay…" Said Jayden after hugging his sister

Lauren smiled at her little brother, "Jayden…We're a family again…You're going to see us plenty." As she walked over to grabbed her things, Ji placed his hand on her suitcase "Here let me help you with those."

Though before the older siblings left, Nariko asked "Takashi…Aren't you and Lauren going to say good bye to the others?" Takashi and Lauren looked at each other then back at Nariko, "Lauren and I…Are not good at saying good byes or hellos…We just…" said Takashi

"Don't worry…We'll take care of it." Told Jayden

"Hey don't forget to tell us when you two are having your wedding." Said Lauren

Nariko giggled and wrapped her arms around Jayden's waist "We won't…You two take care now." Takashi smiled and kissed his sister on the forehead and patted Jayden on the shoulder before departing the household with Lauren and Ji.

Just as they left Kevin, Mia, Antonio, Mike and Emily came walking down the hall with their things. As the former samurai rangers stopped in front of the couple, Antonio helped up a cruise magazine to his best friends "Hey Jayden, Nariko! I've scored the golden ticket! Around the world fishing expedition, this is the trip of a life time! I'm going to catch fish nobody has never even heard of!"

"Sounds fishy…In a good way." Said Mia

"How about you Mia?" asked Nariko

"I'm going to the culinary academy."

Mike looked up at the ceiling and softly said, "Thank you…" Mia happed to hear this and look at him "No comments please." "I-I didn't say anything!" "Well I can take a hint but…I'm gonna study hard so when Antonio comes back with his rare and exotic fish I'll turn it into a gourmet cuisine."

"Kevin are you going back to the swim team?" asked Jayden

"Well I just caught up with my coach the other day and I just barely have enough time to train for the Olympic qualifying tournament! It's definitely going to be hard work but I…"

Emily placed her hand on Kevin's arm, "But if anyone could do it you can!" everyone nodded and voiced their agreement. Kevin smiled at this, "Thanks guys…What about you Emily?"

"Oh no major plans I'm just excited I get to go home and take care of my sister. There's no other place I'd rather be than at home with family."

Mia then pushed Mike a little bit towards Jayden and Nariko, "Mike…Tell them where you're going." "I…I kind of thought I would go with Emily…" the former yellow ranger smiled at Mike who returned it with one of his own. The two then held each other's hand which brought a smile to everyone's face.

Noticing the looks that they were giving them, Mike said "Uh…You know…In case she needs moving her stuff…"

Everyone lightly laughed at this, "Sounds fun." Said Jayden "Right…The moving man…Whatever you say." Said Kevin

"Well come on…Mentor is waiting." Told Nariko

Thus they departed the household and joined Ji outside who had witnessed Takashi and Lauren leave. "So…What are you guys going to do?" asked Mike "We haven't really thought about it…" admitted Jayden "I mean…For the first time in my life…I'm done with my samurai duties…For now anyway…"

"My place is here…The Shiba house must be always ready for the next nighlok attack…Even if it never comes…" told Ji

"Well…I was thinking about starting on planning for our wedding…Since we now have the free time to do whatever we want." Said Nariko

"Oh you've got to tell us when you're having it!" said Emily

"Yeah!" agreed Mia

Nariko lightly giggled and nodded, "Don't worry Jayden and I will let you know ahead of time."

"Well…If there's any trouble you have my number." Told Antonio, he then took out his cell phone and held it up high "Rangers together!" everyone smiled and joined in, "Samurai forever!"

And just like that Kevin, Antonio, Mia, Emily and Mike departed from the household bidding good bye to Jayden, Nariko and Ji. Once they were gone Nariko let out a sad sigh, "They're gone…" Jayden wrapped his arm around her and kissed her head, "Don't worry…We'll see them again."

The former red ranger then looked at the samurai mentor, "So…What do we do now?" "Well…The bamboo needs pruning…And I do need to restock the practice dummy…"

Ji then walked over and pulled out a red electric guitar from behind the column, "But I got you a little victory gift." Jayden and Nariko lightly laughed at this and walked over to Ji. The samurai mentor handed the guitar to Jayden, "Now that the world has been saved I can teach you to have some fun." "I like the color."

Jayden then sat down on the chair with Nariko by his side, Ji joined too with his own guitar in hand "Go on give it a try." Nariko smiled as she listened to her fiance play a catchy tune "Wow…You're pretty good Jayden." "Thanks…If I start playing more will you sing for me?" "Maybe…" Jayden chuckled and kissed his fiance before continuing to play the guitar with Ji. The trio shared laughs as they continued their day by having fun and the rest of their lives in peace without any worries at all, since world is now at peace all thanks to the samurai rangers.


End file.
